Seasonal Survival Guide, Chapter 1.

So I've ranted about how intense seasonal rangering is.  So to make our lives easier, here's the first installment of my

Seasonal Survival Guide

-->

©

or How to Live and Eat and Other Mundane Stuff.

Chapter 1.
So You Wanna Be a Ranger.

Get used to it.  Being a seasonal, that is. If you want to be an NPS Ranger/Researcher/ etc., you'll be a seasonal for several seasons.  We all bitch about this, but no one has any solutions.  The fact of the matter is that visitors go to parks mostly in the summer.  Our ranks of staff grow hugely in the summer, leaving only core staff for the winters. I have two unsolicited pieces of advice for getting a perm gig:

A.)  Join the Coast Guard (or other branch of the military) and serve our country this way for 4 years.  Work hard.  Earn your ranks. Learn how government works.  Continue studying in your field.   Get your 5 point bump as a veteran for the hiring process.  One way or the other, it will take you at least 4 years to get perm status, so you might as well spend those 4 years being paid, earning GI Bill stuff, and serving your country.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  You might even prefer the military life!

      







Why, Ranger Anna, do you suggest the Coast Guard?  You get to be on ships--mostly.  And every Coastie I know is really fun and smart.  You'll work the east or west coasts, the Fabulous Great Lakes, Alaska, or Hawaii, too bad for you. (There are some stations in non-watery places.)  You'll pick up drug runners.  You'll rescue folks.  You'll protect the environment.  You'll protect us.  Do it.

B.) When you get those seasonal gigs, be willing to serve in the urban parks.  St. Louis, New York, San Fran, Cleveland, Philly, Boston, etc..

Independence Hall, Philly

Theodore Roosevelt Birth Place, NYC

Koren War Monument, D.C.

DD at the Lincoln Memorial, D.C.

The White House.  I'd love a gig here.  Someday, if it's ever just me, this is where I'll apply. D.C.

DH and me on the Mall, from the Capitol. D.C.

DD at the Viet Nam Memorial. D.C.

Boys at Jefferson Expansion, St. Louis for the Return of the Corps of Discovery.  FTD is a
L & C geek.

C.  The third way to a possible perm gig is to think about taking a 'desk' job... bookkeeping, clerking, VUA (Visitor Use Assistant, the kind folks who handle money at the gates, among other duties), maintenance, etc..  There are lots of ways into perm status~~your first few gigs might not be the job of your dreams, but you're in the Service.  I know lots of folks who started this way--as one of my fav Chief Rangers put it, he started 'in the box' doing fee collection, which is under the Law Enforcement Division.  Think about getting your boots in the door.... And thanks Ranger Gaelyn for the reminder on this one!

The Box at THRO. This is the old one.  The new one has way fewer mice.

D. Two seasons, two parks.  Lots and lots of seasonals work a winter season in one park, and a summer season in another.  If you read my other rant about us calling a season a year, you'll know that this really is like 2 years worth of stuff crammed into 12 months.  If one of your parks is big enough you might be able to work for two different divisions in one year, and not go over the ubiquitous 1090 hours/year issue.  For example, one of the coolest rangers I know works Interp in the winter, and in the box in the summer.  She ends up with about 6 or 7 weeks off per year, which isn't great, but it's do-able.  The down side to the 2/2 seasons issue is insurance.  The Association of National Park Rangers offers a lower cost insurance for seasonals, and it's certainly worth looking into.
The hardest part about these gigs are that you'll likely need to find your own housing.  And getting an apartment in a major city for 4 months?  You see one of the problems.  Be flexible and have a plan.... like finding trailer, or at least a pick up truck with a cap, and plan on living in that.

This might work.

This makes more sense, though.  If you can find one cheap, snap it up.  Or call me, we're in the market.

Your next vehicle if you're going to be a seasonal.  Truck and cap. Start looking for one now.

How your housing might feel.......

Next installment. . .   What to expect for living conditions. Stay tuned to your televisiony sets.

P.S.  Ranger peeps, send me your suggestions for seasonal survival... I'll add it into future posts.  Send pics of you being a seasonal doing something funny.  Or of your living quarters. Or maybe meaningful.  Or arresting someone. Or maybe connecting your visitors to the resource, you know, rangery stuff.