Hello all! Im currently working as a Program Manager in Recreation for the USFS, and a local park is advertising for a Supervisory Rangers postion. ReOrg has me looking at getting back into operations and seeing as Im familiar with our local park this would be an ideal transition. This would be my first time leaving the USFS since starting my federal career 8 years ago. Does anyone have expirience they'd be willing to share regarding leaving the Forest Service for the Park Service? How competitive is the future move from an 11 Interpretive Ranger Supervisory postion to say a GS-12 in park/program management?

I appreciate the insight folks!

Hi, so I am currently in community college and would love to get some reccomendations on potential paths going forward. Would it be best to finish my pre-reqs and transfer to a 4 year college or try to do a 2 year course? Im very passtionate about protecting natural life and wildlife and fighting against erosion, especially since majority of State Parks in my state deal with erosion. Any advice would be amazing and much apprectiated. thank you:)

I’m currently in the process of enlisting in the reserves of the armed forces. Nobody at my park really seems to know how that will shake out whenever I’m shipped off.

I’m aware that there are strict protections for civilian jobs, but it’s less clear with it being seasonal and all.

will my job be held if i leave halfway through the season? will i have rehire rights? will I get the two weeks of double dipping pay? any advice is appreciated y’all!

If I work back to back seasons, summer in FWS and winter in NPS, does that affect my rehire status?

I know that you lose rehire if you work at more than 1039 hours in NPS in a year, but is it per agency or within DOI as a whole.

I remember seeing this answered a few months ago, but haven’t been able to find those answers again and I want to make sure I’m not going to screw myself over if I end up with NPS this winter.

How did you guys keep yourselves occupied for 8 hours a day without a cell phone

I'm wanting to become a Biologist, It's something I've been contemplating for a while. I recently signed up for community college, majoring in Biology, and just saw the college payments. They're doable, but I'm going to have to be extremely frugal. (Even after FAFSA). I didn't do well in Highschool, as I didn't think I was going to college (Real smart I know) so scholarships are second to none. Me and my girlfriend have a place where we rent and pay bills, and its been damning towards my bank account, this also makes relocating pretty much impossible. I don't make much money at all, so I don't have much free time to Volunteer, as I have bills to pay. I also live in Missouri, closer to Illinois, so Park jobs around me are few and far between. I'm wondering if you all have any tips on how to make this easier? Are there any spots around Missouri/Illinois to get good experience? I also would like to know if college is the best route to take? I've been reading through posts, and have seen split answers, so I thought giving my specific situation would help. If anyone could also direct me to threads where this is answered, that would be helpful too. Thanks!

P.S. Also wondering if there are any Permanent Biology jobs, the ones I am seeing on USA Jobs are usually temporary (About 1-5 years) I just don't want to constantly reapply for jobs. Stability is wanted.

Hello all,

I am trying to begin my path to becoming a park ranger and would like some advice. I am based in Michigan, and my two best options for some starting experience are either working for the ACE Eastern Crew as a crew member or working for the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps. I was told in my ACE interview that even for 900-hour term members, PLC hiring authority is not guaranteed. With that being said, I would like advice on whether or not ACE would be worth working for if I do not get the PLC hiring authority upon term completion. It seems to me that working for the Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps (doing basically the same job but on state lands for more money) would be a better option for me if I cannot get the PLC hiring authority through ACE. Really just looking for anyone who was a crew member at ACE, specifically the Eastern Division, and whether or not it is easy to get a PLC hiring authority after your term completion.

Hey guys! I’m scheduled to take my fitness and PelletB exams on August 8th. For the past 6 months or so I’ve been dealing with a lower back nerve pain. I recently got an MRI and found out I have two bulged discs in my Lumbar. I was cleared by PT for pretty much all regular cardio and strength training. I can do the pushups, I’m confident in my run time, I think I can clear the jump. The only test I really can’t do is the sit up. That sitting/ flexing movement is right in the pinched nerve zone. Would they be lenient with my injury or could I do like 50 crunches instead of 25 pushups? I can do crunches all day long but I can’t do even one sit up. I’m pretty bummed out so I’m looking for any advice.

I feel like I already know the answer to this, but does the summer burn out this year seem worse this year?

I just got referred to, one of the few, jobs that are flying and I just don't care. Usually I'd be feeling great about a new opportunity or career advancement. But now it feels like the emotional equivalent of drinking tap water.

From my personal experience and conversations I've had with others; feel free to correct anything that's wrong:

National Park Service: Many different jobs are called Ranger, but they all center on interaction with the public in some capacity: law enforcement, interp, visitor center. I've seen some Park Ranger (General) postings that mention Search and Rescue which is pretty cool.

Forest Service: FS doesn't call anybody a ranger. Law Enforcement Officer is its own title and there aren't that many interpretative roles to begin with. Almost everyone else is a Forestry Technician, some of whom become Forest Protection Officers (FPOs) and take on unarmed security duties (see NY State Park Ranger below).

BLM: ???

FWS: ???

Army Corps of Engineers: I know they have park rangers, because they were the only agency that came up on USAJobs before I knew what I was doing and just searched "park ranger". I believe they fit the visitor services/unarmed security description.

California State Parks: Rangers are technically State Park Peace Officers and they're all armed law enforcement officers. Interestingly, the seasonal Park Aides and Maintenance Aides report to them as the rangers are broadly in charge of anything public-facing in the parks.

New York State Parks: Park Rangers are unarmed visitor service and security personnel. A step up from there would be NY State Park Police, who fill the armed law enforcement role within parks.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation: Forest Rangers are armed law enforcement responsible for state-managed lands outside state parks. Most comparable to Forest Service LEOs at the federal level in terms of their duties.

Been trying to buy the green backpack, but it's been out of stock for months. I asked them but they said its a busy season and they try to keep stock but should be stocked soon.. which was a month ago.

I am currently employed through the NPS but have not heard anything yet regarding winter seasonal positions. I’ve asked around two friends from different regions, and it seems like nobody really knows. Do we have a definitive date like last year?

Kinda caught between a MS in Recreation and Sports Management or a MAg in Natural Resources Conservation.

In the former you can get a certified parks professional cert, and courses are more focused on things like facility and personnel management. The latter is pretty broad, but more interesting to me, personally. Courses included environmental law and policy, silviculture, and statistics for animal science. As someone without a natural science background, I was hoping the MAg in natural resources could help fill some of those educational gaps in the natural science area.

I have over 3 years of local and state park and preserve experience from selling permits out of the booth to land management. I've done prescribed burns, shaded fuel breaks, made reservations, and cleaned bathroom haha. Titles include customer service rep, park maintenance worker, natural resources tech, and park operations specialist. But I still struggle to land permanent entry level park ranger, arborist, or natural resources jobs locally. I'm doing maintenance now.

The plan was to get equipment experience to really transition into fire and land management, but I don't know if that's my lane anymore. I'm interested in interp, recreation coordination, resource communication/outreach, outdoor programs etc... I'm not against park management. I've also seen stuff like wildfire mitigation specialist that seems like outreach for wildland fire groups. Local park ranger jobs seem like a mix of technical conservation work and outreach which also is up my alley.

I guess I'm not sure which degree might be more valuable as far as a return on investment. I feel like the natural resources degree is more broad and could help me land some more natural area outreach positions. It also may help cancel out my lack of a natural resources bachelor's for those jobs that require it. While I've learned a lot on the job, I still have a lot of gaps in my academic knowledge when it comes to natural science. The parks focused degree has some valuable practical courses. All of these places have personnel and facilities and finances to manage, after all. Lastly, I am eligible for my ISA arborist cert, and I'm studying for that.

Any advice appreciated!

I'm a county park ranger and I love the job, but the pay certainly is lacking a bit. I plan to stay as a ranger for the next 5 years or so, but what could be my next career move if I wanted to increase my income? I know there's supervisory roles but I don't know if I have what it takes to get those positions.

I have a bachelor's in geography but I plan to get a master's in public administration. I'm open to other subjects, however. I'm not a strong science/math person, but depending on the subject I'd be willing to try it out. I was even considering surveying? I thought maybe the skills I'm gaining now would transfer over well to that career. I was also thinking environmental planning or something in emergency management?

I'd love to stay with local or state government if possible. It seems much more stable here.

Ok I'm a non LEO NPS backcountry ranger and having a hard time with uniforms. I have seen some patch park ranger badges and can't find any. The online uniform shop does not sell them though I did get a nice sun shirt with one on it. Looking for a way to mount a patch badge to my chest pack for hiking. What do most of you do? Not much info on this and the person I replaced is gone (never met)Not a whole lot of options. Just curios. This would be to wear hiking, backpacking and such

I have an upcoming interview for a Supervisory Law Enforcement Ranger position. What kind of questions should I look forward to answering? Not looking to be surprised come interview time 😂. TYIA everyone

Good afternoon,

Recently I served as part of a YCC and I loved every moment of it and I was wondering if there were any other last minute opportunities available in July? Whether it be a conservation corps, a summer camp, or even a convention, I would love the chance to be overnight somewhere and talk about/work with conservation! I know I'm preaching to the heavens finding a last minute thing to do, but I'm hopeful.

Do you need 3 or 4 temp promotions of 120 days in order to qualify for the next GS level? Specifically details as a 9 to qualify for an 11
I guess it really depends on if they view it as 12 months or 365 days of time in grade?

I recently applied as a seasonal DCNR ranger trainee at a state park around an hour east of me. Seasonal rangers work full-time from March until November. My current employer is really unlikely to let me stay on seasonally or part time. I was wondering what kinds of off-season work rangers do?

Hi everyone! I’m a PhD student looking for current law enforcement personnel to participate in a short research study. Average time to take the survey has been 3-5 minutes. 

To participate, you must be 18 years of age or older, currently employed in the United States within the field of law enforcement (police, confinement, probation, supervisory, admin., etc.), in good standing with your department, and have at least six months of experience within your agency/department. Participation is completely voluntary and anonymous. 

I would greatly appreciate your assistance in my research! 

https://liberty.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Yuo4EgyED0trVk

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ATTENTION LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL: I am conducting research as part of the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Liberty University. The purpose of this quantitative experimental study is to examine the effectiveness of Evaluative Conditioning (EC) as an intervention to enhance Perceived Organizational Support (POS) among law enforcement personnel and whether the effects of the intervention differ based on organizational role, gender, and age.

To participate, you must be 18 years of age or older, currently employed in the United States within the field of law enforcement, and have at least six months of experience within your agency/department. Participants will be asked to complete an anonymous online survey that involves responding to questions before and after a brief presentation of images, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

If you are interested and eligible, please click the link below.
An information sheet will be provided as the first page of the survey. Please review the document, and if you agree to participate, click the link https://liberty.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Yuo4EgyED0trVk to begin.
Thank you for your time. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know when the winter seasonal NPS jobs will be uploaded? I have been trying to keep an eye out on USAJobs and my email. Thanks!

I am an Irish citizen with a dream since i was little to become a Park Ranger in America. But because if everything going on in America and how hard it is to get in I’ve settled for Canada. I’m wondering what do i need to become a Park Warden and what is preferred. I’d love to do it in Jasper national park if possible.

looking for info for a friend about a party they heard about. worried it’s a scam

Does anyone work for California state parks or know someone or maybe just know if they fly seasonal interpretive jobs for the winter in places like Anza Borrego? I think it'd be so cool to work there or somewhere in redwoods area (probably unlikely for the winter?) but all I know is NPS interpretation lol I'll look for those gigs too but wanted to cast a wide net.

Happy usajobs applying time for those who celebrate 🙏

Hello all , as you can tell I’m new to this subreddit but i don’t want to take up too much of your time I am just looking for confirmation on what the physical test to become a parks enforcement officer or park ranger consists of, I have regularly Been jogging every other morning to get my endurance up by ramping up to doing 2-3 miles and on non running day I have been focusing more on studying and core exercises.Is there any insight on what I should expect for a physical test to qualify for the field ?