Does anyone have a park ranger in their family?

[creekland]

We're mulling possible futures for my youngest (8th grade) and I'm thinking he'd make a great park ranger - probably National Park.

 

How does one go about getting that as a career? (So I can think about what colleges/courses for him to take along the way.) I'm not sure it's what HE wants yet - he doesn't know. I'm just looking at talents and personality as I think about the next 4 years and homeschooling. We have been to oodles of NP's and similar - lots of hiking, camping, and nature 'stuff' within our family, but I've never thought of asking a ranger how they got there.

[Alexandra]

in this field of study. My nephew's fiance just graduated with this degree. Her courses always sounded very interesting. She has had some difficulty getting a job but I think she just landed one (9 months out of college). OTOH many grads are likely having the same difficulty.

I think it would be a really neat job!

[....]

OK, this sounds strange, but I was going to apply for that job through the State of Missouri about 6 years ago...(?) Anyhoo, they wanted a Bachelor's degree, but it could be in anything (I have a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences). I think the reason I didn't finish the application process was that they said once you were sworn in, you could be assigned ANYWHERE in the state. Also, I think it only started off in the upper $30,000/yr salary range. I ended up turning it down, I think mainly because that wasn't enough money for me to just up and move anywhere in the gigantic state of missouri (with a husband who had a job and kids).

 

Look at your state - there's probably state-specific conditions for that job.

[CathyinNC]

I used to be a state park ranger. My advice is for him to volunteer at the park of his choice on a regular basis so he can get a feel for what the job truly entails. This will also give him experience and credibility if he chooses to pursue the field. Also, when the time comes, have him check the degree requirements for the specific job that he desires. I would get a general bio degree over a parks and rec degree if it is allowed just so he's not locked in if it turns out that it's not his dream job. (But it is most people's dream job. :))

Edited October 6, 2009 by CathyinNC

[Tangerine]

This might be a bit premature :), but if you go to USAjobs.com there are tons of park ranger jobs. You could look at the qualification requirements to get an idea of what people look for.

[OnTheBrink]

One of the elders at my church manages the Jim Edgar Panther Creek land preserve. I believe his degree is in forestry. His daughter works for a national park in Virginia, and her degrees are in history. However, her job has to do with the historical aspect of the park; his has more to do with managing the land and it's use.

[G5052]

Like any job, it has it's good and bad. Many of the jobs are seasonal (i.e. only for a set number of months), and getting a full-time position is tougher and may require a lot of flexibility in terms of where you're willing to go and what you're willing to do to get in. National Park Service rangers tend to move a lot because that may be the only way to get a promotion. In the GS-scale, the positions tend to be on the low end, but most parks have subsidized housing. Most of the rangers who had families had spouses who worked. Most parks expect you to work at least one day of every weekend and most holidays, and lower-level rangers will work both Saturday and Sunday.

 

Even for seasonal jobs, they look for a wide range of skills including language ability (I gave tours in German and spoke enough Spanish to get by), proven people skills that will help you deal with nasty tourists, writing skills (I wrote several brochures), speaking skills (I gave campfire talks), and of course an interest in history and nature although some parks are primarily historical. Most of the seasonal people I worked with actually had graduate degrees and were trying to get full-time positions. I was very fortunate to get hired the first summer after only two years of college, but got in because a summer hire left after only a few days and I was able to start right away and didn't need housing. I was also willing to come back and work weekends after I went back to college and worked 4 days over the Labor Day holiday.

 

It can be a wonderful career. It was the best team of people I've ever worked with and it helped me with college bills.

[Jennifer]

My sister-in-law is a career National Park Service ranger, as is her husband. I'll email her and see if she would be willing to email your son. I'll PM you when I hear.

Jennifer

[Tangerine]

I read a book called "The Last Season" about a backcountry ranger. He dies out in the wild, but that's already known as you read the book. Just an idea. I enjoyed the book. It's mostly about his love affair with the wild.

[hornblower]

On a side note - Nevada Barr has an entire series of mysteries about a woman park ranger. I've really enjoyed them. I think they'd be ok for a 13 and up child......

though no doubt they sensationalize the occupation :D & I sure hope most park rangers don't constantly find murdered people.....

[creekland]

Thanks to all for the advice. I should add this is not something my son is considering on his own (yet). He is also my naturally rebellious youngster - a 'LET ME DO IT' variety so I can't exactly recommend it to him or he will never consider it. I can only look at how well it 'fits' him and know it would be a perfect match - then see if I can nonchalantly set him up to seriously consider it himself.

 

The moving would be a 'plus' as would remote places. Some of his favorite parks have been Lava Beds and Organ Pipe... He loves the desert and the remote as well as critters of all sorts - and he'd want to do research while there I'm sure (he already does research here), but he often gets 'bored' after a few years and would desire a change in scenery. When we ask him now where he'd want to live he isn't sure between the desert or the Everglades - or Hawaii - or Alaska. The low pay isn't a big deal either as it's more important to me that he loves his job.

 

So... my question was for me - figuring out how I can plot things out to have him come up with the idea... I think volunteering for a couple of summers is a terrific idea... along with the idea of keeping him on a Bio track in general as well as keeping up Spanish and maybe adding another language. He already gives 'talks' to anyone who will listen about various critters or plants. Maybe we can find a way to do that in a volunteer situations of some sort. We had a book, Hey Ranger, that I read a couple of years ago - written by a ranger of course. I'll pull that out and add it to his reading list too. I hope I didn't give it to someone... I might have.

 

Thanks again for the ideas!

[Scarlett]

We're mulling possible futures for my youngest (8th grade) and I'm thinking he'd make a great park ranger - probably National Park.

 

How does one go about getting that as a career? (So I can think about what colleges/courses for him to take along the way.) I'm not sure it's what HE wants yet - he doesn't know. I'm just looking at talents and personality as I think about the next 4 years and homeschooling. We have been to oodles of NP's and similar - lots of hiking, camping, and nature 'stuff' within our family, but I've never thought of asking a ranger how they got there.

 

My BIL has a degree in Forrestry. A bit different. Low beginning pay, but decent lifetime potential and great benefits. Lots of time of, often times he works a 4 day week. He likes it. Oh and he has wanted to be in this field since he was a preteen.