How to Become a Park Ranger

U.S. national park rangers work as naturalists/interpreters, fee collectors and law enforcement officers. Their main responsibility is the safety of the millions of people who visit the parks each year, but they also interact with scientists on environmental issues within the parks.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• CPR Certification Information
• NPS Seasonal Applications
• NPS Seasonal Law Enforcement Certification Information
• Academic Counselings
• Advanced First Aid Certification
• College Catalogs
• Individual School Requirements And Application
• Career Counseling
• Online Park Ranger Information

1. Realize that you'll need at least a bachelor's degree in park management, natural history, forestry, outdoor recreation or a related environmental field for a full-time entry-level position as a park ranger. Prior to that, you'll need to have worked for two to five years as a seasonal (part-time) ranger. The seasonal work will also allow you to make connections.

2. Maintain a high grade point average in high school, especially in the sciences.

3. Obtain college catalogs before your senior year and apply to colleges that offer degrees such as those mentioned earlier.

4. Request applications for seasonal work from the National Park Service after you're in a college degree program (see Tips for contact information). You'll need to have certifications in at least CPR and advanced first aid.

5. Receive a seasonal law enforcement certification if you want to be a seasonal law enforcement ranger. This requires approximately 300 hours of training, which can be provided through courses offered by many community colleges.

6. Include a related science minor in your undergraduate work so that you'll stand out when you apply for a full-time park ranger position.

Tips & Warnings

• For a seasonal work application, write to Seasonal Employment Program, Human Resources Office, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Mail Stop 2225, Washington, DC 20013-7127; [phone]; [e-mail].
• Consider obtaining a master's degree in an environmental field to greatly improve your chances of being hired for the best positions of the NPS.
• You need to exude authority to be a good ranger, and you must be able to wear many hats.
• Competition is now fierce for park ranger positions, due to recent budget cuts. You may be assigned to several different areas of the country during your career.
• Be willing to consider work as a park ranger in state or local parks or in related fields, at least temporarily.

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[rangerred]

on 8/3/2009 everyone looking to become a park ranger who lives east of the mississippi, look up the ranger program at Slippery Rock University. Its a smaller school about an hour north of pittsburg, pa. it has one of the top ranked park law enforcement/ environmental ed. degree programs in the U.S. once you get through all of the training, you walk out the door with a degree, a badge, and 100% job placement..you cant go wrong. I'm in the program now and i cant get enough of. if youre serious about becoming a park ranger, check out SRU.

[taylormarieeex3]

on 2/29/2008 Hey,
Do you think you can email me too at [e-mail]
I too am a freshman in highschool and my dream is to be a park ranger.
So if you have any info i would love to hear it.
Thanks!

[taylormarieeex3]

on 2/29/2008 Hey,
Do you think you can email me too at [e-mail]
I too am a freshman in highschool and my dream is to be a park ranger.
So if you have any info i would love to hear it.
Thanks!

[gfrazier639]

on 2/22/2008 My husband is interested in becoming a law enforcement park ranger. Some job posting say an associates degree is needed, some say a bachelors. Does it depend on the area? Where would he recieve his law enforement training and are the on-line colleges any good?

Thank you,

gfrazier639

[yosimitesam]

on 11/29/2007 could you send it to my email adress [e-mail]