The national park service is a wonderful federal agency that has the beautiful sights of our country in its best interest. From the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon, the NPS is responsible for the upkeep of these sights. If you’re considering a position in national park services, you should be glad to find out that the NPS hires as many as 20,000 positions. Here are some things you should know about national park service jobs.
National Parks Service Positions
When many people think of national park services, they think of park rangers; people who wear the brown uniforms with the unique hats. Though this is the main representation of the job, the NPS hires many different people with different specialties. Here are just some different positions within the national park services:
- Fish biologists
- Hydrologists
- Archaeologists
- Botanists
- Gardeners
- Electricians
It’s easy to see that joining the park services is more than just being a ranger. However, for the sake of this article, we will focus on the rangers’ duties, salary, job outlook, and requirements.
Park Ranger
Duties
The rangers are the eyes, ears and mouth of the parks. They are responsible for gathering information, disseminating data, giving guided tours, performing search and rescue operations, helping in structure fire control, and operating campgrounds. Therefore, rangers must have a love for the outdoors and wilderness. They must also be friendly and knowledgeable of their park.
As a ranger advances in rank, he or she will assume more managerial responsibilities in offices.
Training
For some parks, their requirement for qualification is a high school diploma or equivalent. Parks give on-site training, though sometimes this training is supplemented with formal training at the Horace M. Albright Training Center at Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, and the Stephen T. Mather Training Center at Harpers Ferry, WV. There is also a training center in Brunswick, GA, where ongoing performance can be tested.
However, many parks require some type of college education in any related area. For example, law enforcement, archeology, natural resource management, park and recreation management, etc.
Salary
Depending on the ranger’s rank, his or her salary will vary. Typically, an entry-level summer ranger with a college degree will start at GS-4 ($18,687). As rangers move up in rank or acquire more education, their salary can increase to GS-5 ($20,908) to GS-9 ($31,680).
If you choose a career in national park services, you will experience the true beauty of nature. It is a rewarding career knowing that you are playing a part to help keep America’s history and culture alive in its most natural format.
Sources: http://www.nps.gov/personnel/rangers.htm, http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/workwithus.htm