Any of you guys know about what being a park ranger is like?

>>929341
being a park ranger...something like driving around an SUV with an assault rifle next to you, listening to the radio and participating in a high speed chase if it's near by...then going back to your quiet life wandering around waterways and crashing some drunk guys million dollar yacht. no fucks given, maximum freedom boner achievable on taxpayer's dime

>>929341
employee of mine was a retired park ranger. piecing together from how he described it:

bear in mind that most parks...aren't wildlands, woods or any of that interesting shit. most of them are shit like maintained camps, lakes, and other touristy shit like that.

So with that in mind...being a park ranger is basically being a cop in people's outdoor vacationland.

The pay is cop-like (because you're literally just a peace officer who happens to police the local tourist attraction), and no, it's not lonely, because you're constantly dealing with drunk tourists, or interacting with municipal police who are dealing with drunk tourists.

tl;dr for most postings, it's being a cop at a vacation spot.

>>929447
What was your friends background? Cop stuff or college?

I am a Park Ranger.

It sucks.

Idiots.

Foreigners.

Idiot foreigners.

Retards.

Retarded idiots.

Retarded idiot foreigners.

Soooo many fucking stupid questions.

>>929912
>What's that white mark up there? Is that ancient indian writing or a mountain goat?
>It's bird shit, there are a bunch of pigeons that nest up there.

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>>929912
How'd you get started? Are you a federal or state park ranger?

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>>929958

At the park I work at there is a huge variety. I mostly do maintenance; repairing buildings, equipment, trails, roads, bridges. Felling or cutting fallen trees and brush. Cleaning shitters too. I do some GIS work for trails, hazards, and invasive species. A little bit of stewardship, occasional SAR, assist other first responders who aren't familiar with park layout. One day I was replacing hinges on a remote outhouse and then we had to respond to small wildfire started from some idiot that made a fire in a hollow tree. Another time cutting away on a mountain bike trail and had to drive this lady out who fell and her chin was basically cut open and flapping all around.
Pay isn't great because I'm just seasonal and going through school. But if you start out and decide you like it, you can make a happy living.

>>929437
If you're a Law Enforcement Park Ranger, sure. But there are non commissioned Park Rangers as well. Plus not all LE Rangers have road duty. It depends on your Park. Some don't have a lot of road to actually patrol. So you have campground duty instead, or trail duty.

>>929341
It all boils down to where you work. The big Y parks definitely aren't lonely. Alaska Parks are. Are you in an actual Park or just a National Monument or Battleground? It also depends on what you are doing; ie Maintenance, Interp, Fees, LE. Pay varies too. Maintenance and LE get the most money for their pay grades.

Differs from park to park, but it's largely a romanticised job

They're basically glorified maintenance workers, operating in an outback setting. Fixing walkways, huts, signs, picking up garbage, cleaning toilets, harassing people to see if they've got the right permits. If anything especially important happens (fire, missing persons, etc) emergency services handle it.

Plus the conditions and pay aren't great. Most people don't stick around more than a few years.

Source: Was interested in becoming one during high school, did a two week 'internship' of sorts at a park and completely lost all interest after that

How's Fire Watch?

Also, does having a ham radio license count for anything?