/out/ Related Careers

Kill hikers and loot their corpses, those tents can be pricey

>>809445
i think the legality on that is a little shaky, but thanks for the input!

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Wow you sound like a faggoty young man!
You should Join NAMBLA we host outdoor get togethers on the regular!

>>809502
yeah thanks for that.

>>809436
There is already a whole thread up on this topic
>>804619
Use the catalog and lurk more

>>809578
i swear i checked the whole catalog just before posting to check. must have skipped by it

>>809578
>>809605
but at the same time that thread was pretty shite and i am talking about something a bit different.
im just looking for a little help and guidance is all

>>809578
Thats for jobs that don't require college degree maybe you should lurk more and read that OP wants a career with a college degree

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Spose ill post it here rather than in the cluttered other thread.

Anyone got any experience working as a park ranger? Thinking about doing a one year course to become our equivalent here in NZ, and then hopefully moving to search and rescue. Just not sure whether its worth doing as a job and not just a hobby. Currently a storeman (19), pays aiight and job has a lot of benifits but the work is soul crushingly robotic and I refuse to do this sorta shit my whole life, so if anyone knows of any cool jobs recommend away

>>809436
I'm in college for environmental biology and I have an internship lined up for a DNR research position at a weir in Alaska. I would recommend as much schooling as possible but experience also doesn't hurt

>>809436

>Forest Ranger

Being a forest ranger is a bad choice. There are many high'ish level GS people at these offices that deliberately avoid being considered for such a position in their forests. The reason being that you'll have to deal with a bunch of policy issues and complaints (many of which are nonsensical) of the public. You'll have to transfer (detail) into these positions from a temporary period of time, in which most people in the office you transfer to will hate you for attempting to control what they do or change what they've been doing for so long. At which point, you'll eventually see no other choice but to detail into another ranger position somewhere else and everything bad that happened (either by your hand or otherwise) will be considered your fault. The other members of that office will take no blame for any wrongful actions they take and the revolving door will continue, in which another ranger will come in for a bit, take the blame, and then leave with their tail between their legs.

>Wildlife Biologist

This is a safe bet. However, you'll need to be a bit insightful on how you approach future policy. If you go headstrong into protecting certain animals, at some point you'll be in situations where you'll piss off other departments of your forest. The reasoning being that you might have to restrict certain departments from working in certain "delicate" areas due to the protection of wildlife. I've seen one endangered woodpecker shut down a contract worth around $60k. Due to other such actions, among other things, that current Wildlife Biologist tries to be out in the field as much as possible, because he's now hated by the entire office. Last I heard he was looking for a new forest to move to.

>>809716

>Wildland Firefighter

If you get yourself into a commendable hotshot crew and spend years with them, you'll have a chance to get placement in a small forest in regards to an AFMO or FMO position. The issue with the fire route is that many people are vying for the higher up positions. It's very much a bottleneck and many don't get the top spots. The ones that don't get the top spots are left to do brute labor for fire work and end up messing up their backs or doing insane damage to their bodies before they turn 40.

>Trails & Recreation

In a lot of forests this will include permit dispersal to the public. Will include bathroom cleanup, camp-host designations, campsite regulations. Many people think the mountain is their own. You'll piss off some people along the way, but it might not be as bad as what the rangers have to deal with.

>Range

This department deals with grazing contracts. The confrontation of Bundy and the BLM has only made ranchers more aggressive. These people will lie and sneak behind your back to make sure their cattle gets fed and they get a good payday. Some will even threaten you with you and your families life. At some point the forest will get sued by a rancher, who may have trumped up evidence or otherwise to make it look like you broke a contract.

>Timber

Similar to Range, except you'll be dealing with nefarious loggers instead of ranchers. You'll also be sectioning off and preparing areas for logging that may never sell. Costing the department tens of thousands of dollars to prepare and leading to no net profit. After too many failed timber sales, you'll most definitely be persuaded to leave.

>>809727
>Dems gubmint overseers dindu nuffin

>>809712
After meeting the minimum education requirements, experience counts for way more.

>>809716
>>809727

This anon is painting a much bleaker picture than is actually the case. It sounds like you had some bad encounters.

>>809780
>It sounds like you had some bad encounters.

No, I'm being realistic. These aren't great jobs, they're stable and secure though, if you're looking to start a family. I just gave OP a rundown of real events and real dilemmas that he'll have to deal with. There's no point in sugar coating this stuff. OP is going to gain nothing if all he comes into a job expecting something that isn't real.

>>809766

There's bad people on either end. I've heard of government employees buying personal things with their department's pool money. People go on power trips and shut down parts of the mountain (trails / roads) because of some juvenile feud or just to swing their dick around. I also have to watch my credit like a hawk because some government employees decided to steal PII from the department of agriculture for some fraud ring.

>>809712
>>809712
>>809716
>>809727
>>809774
Thanks sc/out/s so much every little bit of insight is helpful. The more you know the better to be prepared

I work for New Hampshire state parks if anyone has questions. My primary role is search and rescue but I have tertiary knowledge of other areas and started out as landscaping/visitor services.

I work as a seasonal maintainer for a fish hatchery
If anyone has questions

>>810028
I'm looking into Park Naturalist as a career because leading nature hikes, answering questions, and teaching little kids seems up my alley. Websites use ranger and naturalist interchangeably, so are they they same job? Is that what your time at the visitors center was like?

>>810028
OP here. Is that something you just worked your way up to? Did you want to get into search and rescue? How was your whole expirience? How long did it take? How's the pay? Do you think formal education or work expirience is more important to get in?

>>810042
OP here what do you do during the off season? Do you enjoy it? Is it enough to live on?

>>809436
keep in mind that being a forest ranger means you'll have to deal with violent drunk people on a weekly basis, as well as a bunch of other bullshit that we humans do to nature

>>810061
Unemployment , and side jobs, carpentry landscaping, farm work, minor tree work
Alot of processing firewood
Alot of fishing as well

I live with family currently ( still young )
Though I do pay rent etc

It's not enough to live on (where I live) but with some side jobs and cheap rent it would totally be doable if you're good with money

>>810063
Do you have to pick up my beer bottles and tuna cans that I leave in the firepit or my shit and shit paper behind the nearest tree?

>>810044
I could write a lot on this but at a basic level I see park ranger as a catch-all term for anyone who works at a park. This obviously differs from state to state and is much different at the federal level (working for NPS). A more conservative view of a "park ranger" generally has them fall into one of two roles, interpretive work or law enforcement. There's also a third, which is park management but it is not mutually exclusive to those two.

A naturalist on the other hand I would probably expect to have a degree in environmental education, biology, forestry or something similar. A naturalist would have a more limited scope than a "park ranger" but it could be range from interpretive work (educational) to resource management.

If you're from the US I found this website to fairly accurate information, at least for my state: http://www.parkrangeredu.org/

>Is that what your time at the visitors center was like?
At my park our visitor services are extremely limited and we tend to deal more with the pragmatics of hiking. What trails to hike, what gear to bring, what to expect, along with light cultural/historical info about the park. Other parks that I have visited like the Flume Gorge in the White Mountains and Acadia National Park both featured visitor centers that seem to be more of what you're thinking of but I don't know enough about them to comment.

>>810060
It's definitely something I worked my way into. I used to work the second shift which is when most of our hikers run into trouble. I would help coordinate the rescue from base by running the base radio and keeping information or making phone calls. I'd also always be the first to volunteer carrying some 50 pound pack full of medical/rescue gear up to the scene and being in shape made sure they kept calling on me. (cont)

>>810060
>>810212

>Did you want to get into search and rescue?
I knew the park extremely well because I had visited it hundreds of times before I began working there so I was exited to put that knowledge of trails and terrain to good use. Though to answer your question I don't think the thought ever occurred to me that I would get involved in search and rescue when I applied for the job.

>How was your whole experience?
I love it, it's extremely rewarding. I get payed to hike at my favorite park and meet lots of people from all over. If somebody runs into trouble I hope I can help them out.

>How long did it take? How's the pay?
I'm enjoying my third year at the park now. My first year was doing a bit of everything, the second year was about 50/50, this year I'm only on for search and rescue. To be honest the role I'm in at my park is a dead end and the pay is only barely above minimum wage. There really is no path for advancement as it's a fairly unique position within my state and is not needed at other parks. All that being said I love it and could see myself working here for the rest of my life provided management remains chill.

>Do you think formal education or work expirience is more important to get in?
In my case it didn't matter. I was hired as a seasonal worker which only requires a high school education (if even that). After my first year I went and completed a Wilderness First Responder course. In the future I'd like to get certified as a Wilderness EMT.

If I wanted to make a career out of parks I'd have to get a degree, in my state resource management would probably be the most useful. To be honest, my park is kind of the exception, if you want to make a career out of search and rescue then law enforcement with a specialization in medical training is probably the way to go. It differs from state to state, here in NH, Fish and Game will usually lead them, in Vermont its the State Police.

Anyone know anything about drug testing as a ranger?

>>809436
Biological technician checking in. I would recommend a B.S. in biology over environmental science if you want to go into Wildlife biology. But regardless of which you choose, the best advice for a blossoming biologist is try to get as much field experience as possible as an undergrad. Help grad students, for free if you have to, and try to get an undergrad thesis project in. It doesn't have to be something publishable, but if it turns out to be that's even better.

>>810242
Can't speak for the park service. I know a guy who just got a year to year position with USFWS, and while working on his degree he did alot of drugs. Haven't had much contact with him lately, don't know if he still does or if they test thoroughly.

>>810242
Rangers are law enforcement. They get tested.
>>809436
Environmental contractor here. Enviro degrees are mostly hired for industry, where you'll definitely be working outdoors, but most of what you do resembles construction more than recreation.