Become A Park Ranger With Your Bachelor’s Degree
It seems like something absolutely inconceivable. Where many organizations are laying off as much as thousands of its employees, our country’s national park system is reporting its suffering from a personnel shortage. They are especially having problems finding, of all things, park rangers.
Yes, you did read that right. The America’s “crown jewels,” as some call them, is facing as great as a 44% labor shortage. It’s not just Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, either. For those who like more urban settings it also includes major urban parks such as New York City’s Liberty Park and Philadelphia’s home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Park. Even more confounding is the average salary is actually quite good, at $50,000 a year. There is so much more data about accredited degree on the web.
If that isn’t enough, the National Park Service, the federal agency that manages these parks, says the shortage is only going to get worse. It projects that over half (55%) of its current staff of rangers will reach retirement age within the next five year. If the Service doesn’t start filling up these gaping holes, it could end up being disastrous for such public institutions as the Lincoln Memorial and even the Arch of St. Louis.
As one might imagine, the job of a park ranger actually can come with quite a bit of satisfaction. First it should be understood that there are two key types of rangers, law enforcement and ambassadorial. The law enforcement ranger are usually trained in criminal justice or environmental issues and out to protect the parks from anything ranging from littering to possible terrorist attack. Ambassadorial rangers are those who help tourists with anything from historical information, the best ways to get to key landmarks or such important information as the restrooms. Educating yourself all you can about environmental science degree online may mean quicker success.
Here’s another interesting thing about joining the National Park Service. It is actually on the hunt for a very wide range of personnel. Aside the Criminal Justice majors, it will gladly accept those who are studying American History, soil scientists and even those studying anthropology and zoology. One way they have started to encourage college students is to set up an internship program in Philadelphia, where one not only gets training, but also credit and/or pay to show students around the city’s numerous national parks.
Salary is highly dependent on where one works as well as experience. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that salary actually does have a wide range, from $35,000 to $78,000. It also comes with standard benefits for a government employee.
Besides potential internship programs, there are other sources of financial aid available outside of the standard federal and state grants. The aforementioned National Park Service includes an excellent list of potential grants and scholarships at its website. As always, one should also sit down with a financial aid officer for other possible sources of scholastic aid. Researching environmental engineering degrees will work in your favor.
No matter what, if one has a love of the outdoors, American history or both, one can’t do much better than being a park ranger. It is an occupation that may seem a bit on the unconventional side, yet has an incredible satisfaction rate for those who do.
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