Scott Dooley7th HourDecember 18th 2001Career ProjectA career I would be interested in pursuing is being a park ranger. This job interests me because I love spending time outdoors and with people. It also is an interest of mine to keep our wonderful parks and woodland environments safe and to have them still be around for many more generations to come.
The job of a park ranger is to enforce laws, regulations and policies in national, state, county, or municipal parks with dangerous wildlife, bad terrain, or in bad weather situations. Park rangers do task such as vehicle and personal registration, fee collections and issuing of permits. They must give information about the park use, safety requirements and special points of interest. Park rangers also help in the care and maintenance or parks.
They help visitors utilize the natural surroundings that they visit. Park rangers are involved in the police aspect of parks also. They direct traffic, investigate accidents, and patrol to help prevent fires, theft, and vandalism. They can evict or arrest persons who violate park rules and regulations. Park rangers take part in rescue and first aid when needed. Rangers in certain climates might specialize such as snow safety or avalanche control.
Conservation is key with park ranges. They study wildlife behavior, plants, water, and pollution, plus the use of parklands. Some may be involved in the planning, construction, maintenance, landscaping, or management of park facilities. Helpful qualities for a park ranger are the ability to accept responsibility, good communication skills, and ability to work independently, and the ability to react appropriately in emergency situations. Some physical demands park rangers might come across frequently include: climbing, reaching, handling, fingering, talking, hearing, close vision, kneeling, and color vision.
Park rangers need at least two years of college with at least twelve credits in science and criminal justice. Most park ranger positions require a bachelors degree as well. Also, a masters degree is helpful for advancement into supervisory positions. Also, to become a park ranger there is no special licensing or certification required. There are three major degrees that are preferred.
These include: parks, recreation, and leisure studies, business or public administration, and natural sciences. The one that I am interested in studying is Parks, Recreation, and Leisure studies. This major is offered at a variety of schools. The school I have chosen is Central Missouri State University.
Admission requirements for Central Missouri State University are like most other state schools. The preferred admission test ACT. The average ACT score for the Universitys freshman is 22. 0.
The high school credit requirements go as followed: English: 4 years, Math: 3 years, Social Studies: 3 years. Foreign Language: 2 years, Lab Science: 2 years, Visual/Performing Arts: 1 year. The tuition and fees for this school if you are from out of state are $5500 and room and board is $4000. The employment outlook for a park ranger is not all that bad looking.
There are 132,980 park rangers among us. The jobs employment opportunities will grow moderately at 17% through the year 2006 due to public demand for a safe environment. The salary for a park ranger in 1998 to 1999 ranged from $29,000 to $50,000 or more. If one would want the opportunity for advancement in this field they would need more schooling than just a regular degree.
This would include going back to school for your bachelors and/or your masters degree. Mathematics is used frequently being a park ranger. Math is used in construction, maintenance, landscaping, the use of parklands, and studying different plants and animals. In construction and landscaping you would use geometry. In the use of parklands you may us statistics or algebra for planning for a big event or seeing how regular a park may be used.
I hadnt really thought about the process of an actual major. I have always been interested in the outdoors and wildlife, now I can actually see how it all comes together especially with the four year plan. I have since applied to Central Missouri State University, and got accepted. I have not figured out what I will end up doing next year. I have yet to decide if I am going to go away for school yet .
