If you also want to serve in the maintenance of the National Wilderness of the U.S. The service opportunity is not limited to just full-time employees. The national park service also hires employees according to seasonal requirements. The various opportunities include positions like park rangers, archeologists, cooks, archaeologists, etc. Let’s know How to get a job at a National Park?
Follow this step-by-step guide to find the right position and then apply to work in the national parks in the U.S.
Explore the different possibilities.
First, find a job that fits your abilities and needs. As it was said earlier, there are different positions such as an archaeologist, a park ranger, a museum technician, a park guide, etc. Out of these jobs, you can choose the job that you want to do. Then here comes the next step—choosing the opportunity according to your availability. There are seasonal as well as permanent positions for which one can apply.
The link https://www.usajobs.gov/ provides a list of all national park services databases. After the link opens, type ‘National Park services’ into the search tab. It’ll show all the open positions.
Check all the requirements
Now that you are clear about the job that you want to do, you can prepare yourself for that. First, check whether you qualify for the position’s requirements or not. To check the job requirements, click on the job that interests you (from the same link given above). Every job requires you to have certain educational and specific qualifications. If you pass those criteria, then you can go ahead with applying.
In case you do not qualify for the job, then you can prepare yourself according to the requirements mentioned in that database.
Passing the basic government test
There are certain specific requirements attached to some of the roles which one may qualify for being eligible. For instance, a physical test is conducted to check the physical ability of the candidate. The physical test is quite difficult to pass.
A drug test can also be conducted. Some of the positions are only open to U.S. citizens. A candidate is asked for a driver’s license for certain roles. Some of the positions also require the candidate to know first aid.
After getting all this information, it’s time for action. After you are clear about the job that you want to do and the qualifications that you’ll need, you should proceed with the application process.
Applying for a job at national parks.
You can use the government’s website to apply for the position that you want to serve. It is https://www.usajobs.gov/. Here, you have to create an account. You can do thorough research about the national park and its work style and other information. It’ll make things easier.
Different positions available at national parks
National park services offer the opportunity of service to Administrative officers, chief attendants of staff, IT specialists, environment specialists, historians, exhibit specialists, park rangers, motor vehicle operators, etc. There are almost a hundred different service titles to work at a national park.
The information about qualification and work of some of these jobs is given below.
Park ranger
A park ranger is involved in the day-to-day activities of the park. They may assist visitors with a disability.
A park ranger performs the following duties:
Provides educational and recreational programs to the visitors.
Assisting visitors through the park and providing important details about the particular monuments, flora, or fauna.
There are three types of park rangers, first is interpretive rangers, who assist and provide interpretation to visitors. Second is law-enforcement park rangers, they deal with emergencies, patrol the park and write tickets. The third is the general park ranger, they handle the general work of a park ranger depending on the needs including interpretation, protection, and enforcement duties, etc.
Park guides
Guides are uniformed professionals who provide tour (cultural, historical, and natural) talks during the visits according to the area and interest of visitors.
Wildland firefighters
The wildland firefighters handle the fire emergencies within the parking area. They are members of the fire crew.
They handle emergencies, including
Firefighting, Backfire and burnout, Hover hookups, Helitack operations, mobile and stationary attacks, etc.
Archaeologist
The national park service archaeologist provides a range of services related to the preservation of archeological and cultural heritage in national parks. They perform the specific assessment, documentation, and other office works necessary.
Biological Science/physical science/ museum technician.
All of these technicians handle the heritages in which they are qualified. They do the office work necessary for the management of the heritage. Provide educational talk to the visitors visiting specific locations under their departments’ area.
The provided information is an overview of these jobs, and the NPS may also ask to perform the additional duties.
Salaries
Now that the duties of different professionals at NPS are informed, it’ll be good to look at the salary expectations from doing these jobs. And that’s why the following table is presented showing salaries of some of the jobs at national parks in the U.S.
| S.No | Job Title | Salaries (per month) |
| 1. | Park ranger | $3,391 |
| 2. | Historian | $6,855 |
| 3. | Archeologist | $4,544 |
| 4. | Lifeguard | $3,138 |
| 5. | Firefighter | $2,000 |
| 6. | Park Guide | $3,039 |
| 7. | Biological science Technician | $3,116 |
| 8. | Museum Technician | $3,500 |
| 9. | Machine Operator | $3,000 |
| 10. | Budget Analyst | $6,000 |
The salary estimations are made according to the data available on Glassdoor. The salary variations are expected based on experience, qualifications, and seniority, etc.
Benefits of working at national parks
Either this is a benefit of the job or not, but one can’t ignore that they get to visit different monuments, parks, sceneries, memorials, etc. working at national parks. Along with the salaries, the job benefits of working at national parks are numerous. And these benefits may also attract many individuals to aspire for getting a chance to work at national parks.
Being a national park service employee gives you the benefits that any other federal employee gets.
Here’s a list of the benefits national park employees get:
Health Benefits
Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEPB) Program offers more than 6 nationwide plans to federal employees. With FEPB federal employees have the opportunity to join health plans at better rates and protection.
Along with the insurance plans FEPB offers Highly Deductible Health Plans (HEHP) and Health Savings Account (HAS) for the medical expense savings.
Flexible savings accounts
Employees get the benefit of three flexible savings accounts if they enroll in the federal flexible savings account program (FSAFEDS). These three flexible accounts are a health care flexible spending account, a limited-expenses health care spending account, and a dependent care flexible spending account.
The employees have to register for this benefit within 60 days of their employment.
Dental and vision insurance
There’s a supplemental plan providing dental and vision insurance. This is the Federal Dental and Vision Program (FEDVIP). There are 4 nationwide and 3 regional dental plans and along with 3 vision plans so federal employees can choose between these plans.
Life insurance
There’s the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance program (FEGLI) to provide life insurance to federal employees. There is one basic life insurance that is provided to every employee when they join the duty, and the other three are optional and employees can choose between them.
Retirement benefits
There are commonly two retirement systems, the first is the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), this program covers federal employees employed after 1987. The second one is the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) covering employees employed before 1987.
A Thrift Savings Plan
Through the Thrift Saving Plan (TSP), federal employees can control their money investments. This plan offers two options—one is the traditional contribution option and the other is the Roth contribution option.
Try these short-term opportunities at national parks.
Even if you are not eligible for any of the above jobs, or you are preparing to join the national park service in the future, then you should consider these opportunities.
Seasonal service
If one is not sure whether the job is right for them or not, then they should try to work on a seasonal basis at national parks. The national park service hires seasonal employees during the summer and winter seasons, and the open positions are updated on the USAjobs portal.
For the summer season, one can apply before one or two months of July. So they can be shortlisted to work from July to August.
For the winter season, one should apply before one or two months of October. During the winter season employment needs workers between October and July.
Seasonal employment can provide one insight into the nature of the National Park Service. The experience during the seasonal work can help one decide whether they would like to do the job or not.
Volunteering
National parks need volunteers during some days and events to guide visitors and perform additional work at the park. This is a good opportunity to learn new skills and experiences. One can find volunteering opportunities either by visiting the local park or by checking http://www.nps.gov/getinvolved/volunteer.htm.
Internships
As school students, college students, or graduates, if you aspire to serve in the national park, then you can try for internships to get exposure to the national parks. The best way to look for internship opportunities is by visiting local parks near you and inquiring about the available positions.
Individuals with special knowledge in any subject can also apply for the following opportunities:
• Historic Preservation Training Internships.
• Geoscientists-in-the-Parks Internships.
• National Park Business Plan and Consulting Internships.
• Maritime Documentation Internships.
Conclusion
Working in national parks services allows you to explore the national and cultural heritage of America. The national park employees get a good amount of salary as well as other benefits as every other federal employee. If someone passes the qualifications and requirements of a particular job, then they will be soon on-boarded to their respective job.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q.1: What is the salary of a museum technician at a National Park?
According to the data on Glassdoor, a museum Technician earns $3,500 per month.
Q.2: Do National Park employees get health benefits?
Yes, through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEPB) program, national park employees get various health insurance and health savings benefits.
Q.3: What qualifications do you need to work in the national parks?
Every job has specific educational requirements and other qualities that one needs to possess to work at a National Park.
