Are there any park rangers on /out/? I am thinking of working to become one once I go back to school and am interested in hearing any opinions/tips.
Rangers are 99% of the time a former police officer or Military vet. Going to school is useless unless you meet that criteria first.
It's stupidly competitive for as shitty as the pay is. I'm an Ohio state park ranger and I only got the job because the director of our park is a drinking buddy with my stepdad.
40% of my day is trying to catch gay men in the woods banging so I can arrest them.
>>726050
lolno.
Depends what you mean by "ranger" Common perception is that the park ranger is the ranger of the 1950's who did law enforcement, interpretation, ecology all in one. Since then, the NPS has specialized into divisions. You have interp rangers, LE's, sciences, backcountry, climbing, boat rangers, the list goes on. Furthermore, you have all the other divisions in uniform (trails, maintenance, fire, weeds/revegetation, wildlife, GIS, etc) who generally don't interact with the public as much, but are just as much rangers as everyone else.
You can ask away, but there are specific routes into each division. >>726050 is only saying that being a cop or vet is one of the big ways into law enforcement. It varies for all other jobs unless you're already internal.
>>726060
>40% of my day is trying to catch gay men in the woods banging so I can arrest them.
top fucking kek
>>726060
>It's stupidly competitive for as shitty as the pay is. I'm an Ohio state park ranger and I only got the job because the director of our park is a drinking buddy with my stepdad.
>I only got the job because the director of our park is a drinking buddy with my stepdad.
>cronyism
>competitive
You ain't kiddin son.
I tried applying for a ranger apprenticeship once, it was £2.40/hr (about $3.45) for two years and 29 people applied for it, and I was one of the least qualified, and I'm qualified as fuck.
Fuck that, I'm happy with my estate work and better.
Just kidding I'm dying inside watching the real rangers taking kids on conservation walks while I fix the fence in the background like a fucking gremlin.
I was told if I keep volunteering with the rangers, as in for years on end, I might have an in, I just wonder if its worth it.
It is.
>>726140
Not OP, but I was planning on getting some 4 year biology/ecology/forestry degree and wanted to work in the backcountry or do guided tours. How hard would it be to get into with at that level of education and no real relevant work experience?
>>727336
Backcountry work is generally backcountry rangers (good luck), trails or fire. Other divisions go backcountry occasionally, (weeds, reveg, science). Guided tours is totally different as that's interpretation. Interp is probably the easiest division to get into, a 4 year degree gets you in the door by education for nearly all interp jobs and if you volunteer/intern some while you're in school you can get a job no problem.
>>726475
He's not joking, gay dudes love to fuck in family friendly enviroments
>>726060
>gay men in the woods
>>727359
>not joking, gay dudes
You're wrong, what you're catching is married guys that are gaying it up. That's why they're in the woods/rest stops/public bathrooms/campground showers. They can't do it at home because: wives.
Real gays can't be bothered with sex in those places.
>>726046
I was a Interp Ranger for three seasons for the NPS. It was a fantastic job, I spent all day hiking, teaching kids cool stuff, and learning about historic, cultural, and natural aspects of the parks I worked in.
The problem is that you can spend years, YEARS, as a seasonal worker. And you'll be hard pressed to find a winter gig, so its a lot of moving around and never really getting a full time job. Its fun at first, but when you want to settle down and start a life, it gets kinda lame living in temp housing in a new town every 6 months.
The pay was good, and it was well worth the work i.e. hiking and presenting. The rough thing is that the NPS gives hiring preference to vets. Now I'm fine with that, and most go in as Law Enforcement Officials (LEO) or Natural Resources, but with the economy being crap they took anything. It sucks to have spent time and money in school to learn about this specific skill set and a dude who spent 4 years in Texas as a diesel tech is now leading hikes and clearly not into the actual job.
After three years I was out, and not /out/. I couldn't see a future with the park service, plus at that time the government was REALLY cutting back, this was when congress was shutting down the government and a lot of parks were closed due to budget cuts.
As much as it hurts to say, the days of government conservation and preservation are numbered. People don't want wilderness or quiet places to reflect and study the natural world. They want ACTION SPORTS and ZIP LINES and stuff. That's all fun, but its not what I want to do. I don't to be a climbing instructor for whiny children, I wanted to live in the woods, explore nature, and teach others something interesting.
I will say however, it was a fantastic experience and I have some amazing memories that I wouldn't trade for anything.
>captcha select images of grass
>>726484
Hey Brit friend. I would really like to know how to get into /out more. Best places for wild camping?
Also what qualifications have you got? I started on my ml this year. What's next for me?
>>726484
What's your position on the estate? Just general maintenance lackey? If you stick it out for a few years doing similar work, get yourself on as many courses as you can and maybe even pay your own way through a few others you'll have enough experience that you'll basically shit all over people who have spent the same amount of time at uni. That's what I did and so far it's gotten me a decent job as an estate forester - twice. I got the offer of a head groundsman/gardener position as well but fuck that lol. I guess if you wanted to do more shit with ecology and tours you'll need more qualifications but do you really want to deal with the great British public? Even if it is for money?
>>727467
"real gays"
Cause those guys sucking dicks in the woods are just pretending
>>727621
If the balls aren't touching then yes they are just pretending.
>>727621
This guy doesn't get it.
You don't have to be gay to have gay sex. I'd never kiss a guy (gay) but suck dick, sure, that's sex.
>>727480
>The rough thing is that the NPS gives hiring preference to vets. Now I'm fine with that, and most go in as Law Enforcement Officials (LEO) or Natural Resources, but with the economy being crap they took anything.
Maybe I should enlist then? I don't care about law enforcement, but I don't want to slave away at a degree for four years just to not get a job and be buried in debt.
>>727828
>You don't have to be gay to have gay sex.
>>726476
Giving jobs to family is just plain, honest nepotism.
Cronyism is when you give the whole state park concession stand contract (or forest firefighter sack lunch contract) to your buddy from business school who's simultaneously hiring you as a consultant or contributing to your campaign.
