Climbing Ranger questions

Hey all, so I'm finishing up college and have always thought being a climbing ranger for the FS or NPS would be a pretty sweet gig. Does anyone have any experience as a ranger or know what exactly it takes to become one? Also, any individual experiences of being a ranger, pros/cons, etc. would be much appreciated.

Cheers

I know that National Park jobs are really hard to get UNLESS you have been a seasonal volunteer for a whole bunch of years first.(as told by RMNP ranger). Think that someone with an outdoor education or environmental degree is going to have an upper hand at those jobs.

My impression is that those jobs are very hard to come by, are almost never vacant, and don't pay very well. There is also the risk that the job will gradually drain you of your passion for climbing, but that probably depends on your personality.

Good luck.

you as a ranger will always be "the man". Tough to live down in our community from waht i've seen.

Lie on the application process, like every other NPS employee does.

I cant pm you from my phone but pm me. I may have some useful info.

Woodchuck ATC wrote:I know that National Park jobs are really hard to get UNLESS you have been a seasonal volunteer ...

Or a veteran.

I worked for NPS for 8 years. 4 different parks. Not as a Ranger, but on the Trail Crew. It was fun, hard ass work that actually paid pretty damn well. Especially with all the overtime, and "back country living stipend", and no rent, and air dropped food supplies.

Around my sixth season (out at Wonder Lake in Denali) I decided, "screw this trail work shit, I wanna be a climbing ranger!"

That dream lasted about 2 weeks ( the amount of time I had remaining at my backcountry post ), after I found out I would not only be taking a roughly $10 pay cut, but would also have to submit to an entire "volunteer" season. No Pay!!

Well, my vagabond winter dirtbagging lifestyle would hear nothing of it! DAng It, i NEED $ to travel.

So, yeah, the key is either be a vet (Veteran's preference) or Volunteer.
That's actually how I go my initual start...I volunteered with the California Conservation Corps outta college and just so happened to get stationed in the epic Yosemite Backcountry for 5 months, building and fixing trails.
WHICH...for those who don't know, is pretty F'in AMazing! There's MUCH more to Yosemite than the Valley...just sayin.

anyway, hope this helps. I say go for it. Just expect low pay.
which, if you're right outta college should be fine.
cheers

Also, gotta get your Med Certs....EMT-B?...ATLEAST the Wolfer! that cost money too.

Rowdy Wrangellian wrote:Lie on the application process, like every other NPS employee does.

This is actually kinda true....lol.

But, it's almost out of neccesity.
For two main reasons;

1--Veteran's Prefrence (like I said above)
Now, don't get me wrong here, Go Vets!! Seriously. They DO deserve the a better shot. But, I dunno, sometimes it's just a little ridiculous is all. I mean, I've seen several occasions where high ranking jobs were given to extremely underqualified vets.
I mean, just because a guy was a tank mechanic in the Marines, does that qualify him to lead a crew of guys building a bridge??

2--The Automated "point" system on USAJobs.
It's basically a screening proceess that doesnt work very well. A computer cannot accurately judge your compentency level in 10 extremly vague, mutliple choice questions.

I'm done,

-

Feel free to PM me, and I'd be happy to shoot you some advice. -Ben

SendaGorilla wrote:...and air dropped food supplies.

Are you saying the NPS violates arial delivery laws?

For everyone's information; a "Ranger" (for the forest service) is a high level, CEO-type position. There's one per forest. I'm sure they get paid over 100k a year.

What you're describing is more like a "technician" or something.

I would definitely get your EMT-B, WEMT, or a WFR at the very least if you don't already have one. All the Grand Teton National Park climbing rangers I know (as well as many of my YOSAR and Tuolumne SAR pals) have these (most have more advanced medical training).
Beyond that, try contacting directly the parks/organizations you're thinking of working for.

I have 2 friends that are NPS rangers. They both started out actually as an Urban Ranger in NYC. One of them moved on to one of the parks out west the other is still in NYC. Theres a slave burial ground down by wall st that the NPS is in control of, as well as the Statue of Liberty. Theres also a couple of other memorials around that they worked at. I was told the Urban jobs are easier to get and then after you put your time in you can move on....as my one friend has done.

Ranger jobs, as mentioned above, can be pretty competitive. My girlfriend is a wilderness ranger in Zion np. She got her foot in the door by working a few years on fire crew then doing a 3 month volunteer program. She now has worked 3 season as a seasonal ranger. Her job is about 6-7 months per year and she gets extra work by doing SAR and keeping a red card to go out on fire crews a few times per year. The hard part is to land a permanent or term position. With this position you will get benefits, all the seasonal jobs get no benefits. Most of the ranger jobs are seasonal and the permanent ones do not open often and they are highly sought after. You have a lot more options if you go the LEO route. There is a big demand for law enforcement rangers in the NPS and our LEO's here do a fair amount of back-country patrol's. My gf is a little dismayed since they just filled a 4 year term position, which means no upward mobility in her department for 4 more years.

Okay, so... lie, have the willingness to be broke, and get my med certs...got it.

Just messin, thanks for the suggestions and tips though its definitely appreciated.

Lots of good info here. I'll add that the whole land management/conservation community is very small, and pretty much everyone knows each other through acquaintances, former co-workers/supervisors, etc. So, if you violate guideline #1 somewhere in your career, chances are good that it will come back to bite you down the road.

goslowgofar wrote:Okay, so... lie, have the willingness to be broke, and get my med certs...got it.

It's not lying so much as it is utilizing every possible descriptive phrase and buzzword that you can in order to describe your expert ability to make change, use a portable radio, and jiggle the handle on a malfunctioning flush toilet.

Look into the Denali Patrol Program. Its volunteer, but you do get paid for when your on rescues and if your lucky your gear gets dropped off at 14K by heli.

Be cautious getting a WFR or OEC cert. Their becoming obsolete due to Obama's standardized healthcare plan. A WFR is not a standardized medical cert, do to the two conflicting protocol bodies WMI and WMA. A few insurance companies are already on board with this. This means that insurance companies that cover guide services, ski areas and doctors (will) require employees to have standardized medical certs such as EMT or RN. Bummer! should have voted for Palin.

Rowdy Wrangellian wrote:Look into the Denali Patrol Program. Its volunteer, but you do get paid for when your on rescues and if your lucky your gear gets dropped off at 14K by heli. Be cautious getting a WFR or OEC cert. Their becoming obsolete due to Obama's standardized healthcare plan. A WFR is not a standardized medical cert, do to the two conflicting protocol bodies WMI and WMA. A few insurance companies are already on board with this. This means that insurance companies that cover guide services, ski areas and doctors (will) require employees to have standardized medical certs such as EMT or RN. Bummer! should have voted for Palin.

Interesting take on the Med Cert. Do you think if the WMI/WMA joined that it would become a standardized medical cert? In terms of the EMT cert does an WEMT qualify or do you need the EMT-B?

What did you study in school?

I wish the WMI and WMA would work together, there both great organizations. As a WFR you actually have a larger scope of practice (more medical interventions) than an EMT-B and can do some procedures that a Paramedic can't even do. The WFR course is an 80hr course that is good for 2-3 years with a 20-30hour recert course. They(Obama) just extended the EMT-B course from 120hours to a 160hour course and you need 70hours of recert education to maintain that cert. A great way to knock out some of those recert hours is by taking a 40hour Wilderness upgrade course and a 20-40hr IV cert course, plus other cool educational courses such as Rural Trauma Training, EKG/ECG, Ortho-Tech and so on. Just remember once you get your hands bloody, you can never wash the blood off.LOL!