Become a Forest Ranger: Join the Forest Service

What is a Forest Ranger?

Forest Rangers belong to a different organization than park rangers. Forest Rangers specifically care for US National Forests, and there are 155 National Forests in the United States that roughly total 190 million acres, or the size of Texas. One big difference between National Parks and National Forests is that National Forests can be used by private companies for a profit. One common use for National Forests is ski resorts.
A career in the United States Forest Service is a career in conservation. The US National Forests are a place where the interests of many different organizations, groups, and companies compete, and level-headed forest rangers are needed to help make non-private interested decisions to best protect these public lands for the benefit of both the natural resources and also for American citizens.

Forest Ranger Employment

There are many opportunities for employment in the Forest Service in diverse disciplines and fields. These careers can be split up into three major categories:

1. Technical Forest Rangers

Technicians make up the largest share of forest ranger positions. You don't need a college degree to work in several Forest Ranger jobs that are interesting, challenging, and are good experience for forest ranger careers that require a college degree. These jobs can range from improving roads and trails, collecting specimens for testing, observing conditions of plant, insect, and animal species in America's forests. Here are the more specific employment options in the Forest Service:

Forestry Technician: If you like hiking, working outside, rugged living, even skiing, then the broad field of Forestry Technician might be right for you. Technicians are badly needed for important missions such as wildfire supression, plant and wild life rehabilitation projects, repair and maintain trails and roads in National Forests, surveying and observing the commercial usage of National Forest lands, and to aid in scientific endevours to understand and preserve our woodlands, mountains, and grasslands.

Forestry Law Enforcement Officer: Our forests need individuals who enjoy working in the rugged outdoors and who wish to preserve our woodlands through the channel of law enforcement. These officers don't only uphold the law, but also participate in search and rescue operations and aid in saving lives. Officers are needed to ensure that users of public lands are paying their entrance fees and dues. They are needed to ensure that fire building laws are upheld to protect public lands from unnecessary fires. Forestry Law Enforcement Rangers even respond to conflicts between corporations and environmental protestors, making sure that no laws are broken and that the interests of the forests are upheld.

Biological Science and Research Technician: Biological Forestry Technicians work out in the field and physically carry out scientific research procedures. For this reason, the Biological Forestry Science Technician must be willing to work out in extreme weather and climate conditions, and to work in uncomfortable settings. Biological Science Research Technicians must be knowledgeable with complicated measurement instruments and must be able to calibrate and synchronize many apparatuses. Biological Researchers also must be willing to come into contact with certain plant and animal diseases and must put up with minimal risks.

Forestry Engineer Technician: Engineering Technicians in the Forest Service typically must have more experience and education on average than other positions held in the Technicians category of the Forest Service. There are, however, entry level positions in the Engineering branch of the Forest Service. These entry level positions are categorized by the Federal Government in their Grade Level System (GS) as GS-2 through GS-5. See a summary of Grade Levels below:
GS-2: 3 months experience or a high school diploma required.
GS-3: 6 months experience in a position where you have demonstrated your ability to perform with greater responsibilities, or the completion of 2 years of college study, typically with the reception of an Associates degree, with the completion of 12 credit hours in related classes.
GS-4: The requirements for GS-4 are the same as GS-3 above but require an extra 6 months of experience in a position that is directly related to the specific engineering field of your interest.
GS-5: you need 1 year experience in a position directly related to the career path of your choice, OR completion of a Bachelor�s degree (a) with emphasis in the engineering or technological field appropriate to your career choice or (b) a bachelor's degree that included 24 or more credit hours in a combination of courses that include mathematics, surveying, drafting, or other technical/engineering related set of courses (for instance, you could minor in engineering while majoring in another related field such as Wildlife Conservation).

2. Administrative Forest Rangers

Administrative careers in the Forest Service are even more diverse than the Technician side. The Forestry Service needs individuals who serve as private investigators, teachers, and even human resource managers.

Forestry Criminal Investigator: A lot of crime occurs out in America's National Forests, from fire negligence, missing persons, and even money laundering and other organized crime activities. The individual will have to work with local, state, and sometimes even federal law enforcement officers and perform investigations, "cruising" sites, and even undercover operations. Entry level starts at the GS-5 level.
GS-5: you need completion of a Bachelor�s degree to attain level GS-5 in the law enforcement branch of the Forestry Service. GS-7 through GS-11: Supervisory Criminal Investigators: At least one year of graduate level work at an accredited university qualifies one for GS7+ positions as long as that year is directly related to the career path of law enforcement and criminal investigation in the outdoors.

Contract Specialist: A Forestry Contract Specialist is someone with a business background and is perfect for someone with business administration skills as well as a knowledge and a love of the outdoors. Contract specialists must be adept at negotiation, procurement, business law, and other important business concepts. They negotiate the purchases of equipment of the Forest Service, as well as deals regarding the private leasing of public lands, such as camps and resorts. The must also be on hand to make purchasing decisions in times of emergency, like for supplies in the case of a widespread forest fire. To get a position as a contract specialist, you'll need a four year degree and apply at the GS-5 level or higher.
GS-5: There is substantial room for career growth in this field, and to enter, you must have a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited school in one of the following areas: accounting, business, finance, law, marketing, and any emphasis within that spectrum.

Teacher: Educators are needed in some of America's most beautiful scenic areas. Teachers of all types and on all levels are needed in remote areas where there are both children and adults who need to take classes in reading, writing, mathematics, and other skill required to graduate high school or receive a GED. The requirements to be a teacher in a rural National Forest area are the same for any place, one must at least have a 4 year bachelor degree and a teaching certification for the appropriate state. There is also a need for individuals to help others with learning difficulties.

Forestry Social Services: Because there are a great deal of personel in the Forest Service, there is need of people that can teach positive social skills to students who are just beginning to fit into the culture of the Forest Service. The Social Service worker then will guide Forest Service workers on their career paths, keeping them happy and motivated, while keeping a record of their needs and contributions.

3. Professional Forest Ranger Careers

All professional careers in the Forest Service require college degrees, and some require advanced degrees. This is the branch of the Forest Service where most research happens, where cutting-edge academia takes place.

Archeologist: Archeologists are needed in the Forest Service to do field research and determine the value of certain sites while talking with local American Indian Tribal governments about their finds. They are also archive specialists for educational, librarial, and museum purposes.
GS-5+: Archeologists may be hired out of college with a four year bachelor degree.

Botanist: If you enjoy working with plants, you probably enjoy working in the great outdoors. Botanists in the Forest Service work in teams to diagnose problems in the 155 protected areas which the Forest Service cares for. Botanist teams also keep an eye on how public lands are used by private corporations who are on lease, including power plants, loggers, ski resorts, ranchers, and transportation authorities. Botanists are guardians to the natural balance of our Wild lands' eco systems. Your responsibilities will range from caring for the air quality, land use, mineral make-up, recreational considerations, timber abundance and use, and other considerations.
GS-5+: Botanists may be hired out of college with a four year bachelor degree.

Forester: The position of Forester is perhaps the most diverse of all professional Forest Ranger careers. You could work out of an office, or from a jungle, or from a permafrost home base in Alaska. The diverse nature of the job makes it a good goal for individuals who are not totally sure to which capacity they'd like to serve, since it offers the chance to change settings and job description if the fit isn't good. You can work in fire supression, ski and recreation, fishing hatcheries, and more, while you can also find a place behind a desk if the outdoors get to be too much.
GS-5+: Foresters may be hired out of college with a four year bachelor degree in forestry with emphasis in sciences such as botany and zoology.

Hydrologists: Did you know that 70% of the water supply in the west comes from National forests? Hydrologists are employed by the National Forest Service to help preserve and maintain US water ways in that flow through National Forests. Individuals are needed to analyse the water and to maintain hydrolic pumps and other field equipment. GS-5+: Forestry Hydrologists may be hired out of college with a four year bachelor degree with emphasis in sciences such as conservation and natural sciences.

Become a Park Ranger