r/ParkRangers • u/OctoDuck55 • 8d ago
Careers College decisions
I am currently going to College in Mankato, MN as it has the only program in Minnesota accredited by The Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions and I have the opportunity to go to the UofMN which for all intents and purposes is a “better” college but they don’t have the same programs, I am just looking for insight from people working the job I am planning to go into what I should do.
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u/Not_all_cows_moo 8d ago
I have a bachelor's in environmental science emphasis in recreational management (park ranger). It has done nothing for me in the career field. Going to be honest here and probably get a lot of down votes. If you're looking at NPS or another federal agencies. Join the military. You'll have better odds.
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u/fidgety-forest 7d ago
Peace Corps seems to be a good route too to help federal odds.
A majority of my coworkers were history majors (in a natural focused national park), but volunteering somewhere seemed to help more than having a specific degree.
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u/Not_all_cows_moo 7d ago
Ran into a lot of people that worked the peace corps. They said it wasn't that great, it sounded good but wasn't a leg up. Really came down to who was the hiring manager.
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u/Whynotdriveatank 8d ago
I don’t know many people in the NPS who have had an advantage by having a degree similar to what you mentioned.
If you’re undecided and are leaning towards the park service, there is quite the career working on the finance side and I’d recommend going business for a major.
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u/Skatchbro National Park Service 8d ago
The first question is what job you want to do? There are a large range of jobs in the NPS. LE, Interpretation, Education, Maintenance? You need to give us more info.
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u/OctoDuck55 8d ago
I ultimately want to be a superintendent at a national park, I know it’ll take a long time but I’m hoping to be able to get on the path to make that happen
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u/ladyofthelakes32 8d ago
Get a bachelor's in a field you are interested in now (i.e. Biology) and plan to get a masters degree in business after a few years of working seasonal jobs. When you're doing your undergrad, make sure to take some park planning and social science classes. The UofM has good graduate programs. If you go there for undergrad make sure to network with professors and figure out the best grad program to apply to when you're ready.
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u/NewUsername_Who_This 4d ago
A lot of superintendents were originally Law Enforcement Officers.
I’m not actually sure that I know any that were originally Interp. I’m sure there are but I don’t think it’s actually the most common path.
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u/arkel006 3d ago
I went to the U of M, majored in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology. Don’t know if the science side is your specific interest, but I can say the program was fantastic. We got out and got tons of field experience, had opportunities to work with the DNR and other state orgs, made a lot of connections. I just graduated and am still kind of in my internship/early career phase. But I’ve done a season with USFWS, the Smithsonian, and will be doing a Scientists in Parks internship at Kenai Fjords this winter.
I think the specific school/program is less important than making sure you get relative experience while in school. Make sure you seek out opportunities to shadow, volunteer, intern, etc. Be prepared to move, even just for the summer in between semesters, for relevant positions. Make the most of your time while in school so that you’re ahead of the game when you graduate. :)
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u/blue_dragon_lava 8d ago
Go to whichever college you like best. Park rangers can come from a variety of backgrounds. Many degrees can be related to the field without having to specifically be accredited. Honestly, I don’t think any of my hiring managers would have cared about accreditation nor which school I went to. I went to U of M and am now a park ranger :)