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A View From the Overlook: “How Do You Get A Permanent Job With The NPS?”

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A ranger's job, and how to get one, have both changed quite a bit since these ranger's posed for a photo at Mt. Rainier in the 1930s. NPS photo.

'œHow Do You Get A Permanent Job With The NPS?'

This is a frequently asked question, neighbors! If the National Parks are 'œAmerica'™s Best Idea,' then it logically follows that the agency that services the National Parks, that is, The National Park Service, is the best damn bureaucracy in the world, and (therefore) NPS rangers, including myself, are the best damn bureaucrats in the world. (There is a flaw in logic in there somewhere, but you get the drift.)

Everyone enjoys basking in the reflected glory of an elite organization; this is one of the many reasons for the popularity of both the National Park Service and the U.S. Marine Corps. (Admittedly, the Marine Corps is easier to get into.)

Another reason for NPS employment popularity is Positive Feedback: People actually like you and like what you'™re doing. Many of the federal agencies are regulatory, which means you have an established Enemies List, people that hate you automatically, even before you arrive at work at eight in the morning. Not so in the case of the NPS (except for Tea Party fanatics!)

Consider the Internal Revenue Service. Have you ever wondered why the IRS does not have a 'œJunior IRS Agent' program similar to the Park Service'™s Junior Ranger Program, in which aspiring juvenile IRS agents could conduct mock audits of the neighbors? No? I thought not. The same is true of the CIA.

A third reason for NPS job popularity is the physical setting.'œVignettes of Primeval America, at the point of European contact: Towering trees! Thundering waterfalls! Limitless vistas!"

No doubt about it, friends, the NPS is a feel-good agency that many people would like to join, and they are not easily dissuaded.

Recall the last cocktail party you attended. After the host has introduced you as a retired or active member of the NPS, you will be asked two questions: (A) 'œWhat is your favorite bear story? (Pretty difficult if you were at Statue of Liberty), and (B) "How can my (son, daughter, grandchild) get a job with the NPS?'

Now the answer to question B is complicated, ambiguous and fluid.

You might like to hedge, particularly if you are feeling a tad malicious.

'œDo you want your child to be happy?' you might solemnly inquire.

The answer will, of course, be 'œYes! Yes!' (America being the first country to be founded on the 'œPursuit of Happiness" as a goal.)

'œThen,' you reply, 'œYour child should get a job as a Federal Prison Guard.'

Your questioner will be appalled.

No, you have not taken leave of your senses due to Sequestration Frustration; you are merely alluding to a famous yearly study by The Partnership for Public Service in which they ranked the various federal agencies as 'œThe Best Places to Work.'

Now the NPS has never done particularly well in this survey, landing somewhere in the low middle. One notable year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was found to be a happier place to work than the NPS.Why is this the case?

Actually, it is an unfair comparison. You see, there is a difference in expectations.

A person who applies for a job as a prison guard has rather low expectation of approval by the clientele he serves. Most federal prisons are located in rural, low rent areas with few permanent jobs. Our prison guard candidate will be looking for a favorable retirement and medical package rather than Spiritual Fulfillment. In addition, he/she will be pleasantly surprised that they were not murdered the first day on the job. Every day after that is an improvement.

The NPS seasonal acolyte, on the other hand, has high expectations. If only he/she can enter the Nirvana of permanent employment in 'œThe best job in the world,' our Newbie expects 30 years of blissful contentment. What they fail to realize is that the National Parks are not administered by 'œtowering trees or thundering waterfalls,' or even by a John Muir clone, but by rather fallible and ordinary human beings. There will be difficulties and frustrations.

When approached by young men or women desiring a career in the National Park Service, Roger Siglin, former Chief Ranger of Yellowstone and Superintendent of Gates of Arctic National Park, would ask, 'œWhat is your second choice for a lifetime career?' They rarely had one. One should have a back-up plan, unless one is wearing a suicide vest.

'œYes, I know that!' our acolyte exclaims irritably. 'œI understand that the NPS has some serious personnel management problems, but I am different! Once I become permanent, I will reform the organization from top to bottom (WASO is clearly shaking in its boots!), BUT FIRST I NEED TO GET A PERMANENT JOB WITH THE NPS!'

Thereupon hangs many a frustration, neighbors! There are many rumors abounding that 'œOne must know someone' before the Holy Grail of a permanent position can be grasped, or that certain jobs are 'œwired' for certain individuals or certain minority groups.

'œOutsiders,' those brave, noble souls who are not part of the 'œConspiracy,' are condemned to wander forevermore in the Twilight Zone of seasonal employment or working for free as a volunteer. Since the NPS is one of the more gossipy agencies of the Federal Government, rumors abound. Some of them are true.

It is true there is malfeasance and corruption in the obtaining of government jobs, but less so than in the rip-roaring, wide-open period after the Civil War known as the Gilded Age, when everything seemed for sale, even if seller didn'™t own it. Federal jobs were just some of the merchandise available. People worked for political parties and voted for candidates not because they were interested in Good Government and Progress, but because they wanted the postmaster'™s job in their town or the lighthouse tender'™s job, or wanted to be the lucky chap that handed out land to railroads.

This was called Patronage, and constituted a venality tax on just about everyone as the wheels of government ground slower and slower. The various presidents of the Gilded Age may not have been personally corrupt, but many of their appointees certainly were, and the country was shot through with graft from top to bottom.

How were we to get out of the Civil Service corruption trap that even today bedevils most of the poverty stricken countries of the Third World?

'œIf in doubt, ask a ranger!" So, I asked Ranger Todd Arrington of James Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio to clear things up for us. You see, in addition to being in charge of the tallest tree and tallest mountain in America, the National Park Service is in charge of American history. If you are interested in the history of the light bulb, you contact Thomas Edison National Historic Site; if you are interested in Civil Service corruption, you contact James Garfield National Historic Site. It seems that President Garfield died for our sins.

Here is what Ranger Todd had to say:

'œ'¦Civil Service Reform was something that was awaiting James A. Garfield when he became President in 1881. Garfield was inclined to agree that some reform to the civil service system was necessary to get rid of patronage and replace it with a merit-based system in which only qualified candidates who passed exams could receive appointments to federal positions. However, Garfield became much more adamant about this need after his election to the presidency, when he was almost immediately bombarded by letters and visits from people seeking jobs. Very few of these individuals had any real qualifications for the positions they sought and to which they felt entitled simply because they were Republicans or knew someone who knew a Congressman, etc.

Alternate Text
President James Garfield supported major changes in hiring practices for federal jobs in the 1880s. Library of Congress photo.

This continued after Garfield'™s inauguration when he unhappily spent hours each day receiving job seekers. One of those who tried to convince Garfield to appoint him to a position (American Consul to Paris) was Charles J. Guiteau, a mentally unbalanced stalwart Republican who had given a meandering, unimportant speech promoting Garfield in New York and wanted to be rewarded for it.

Guiteau didn'™t get the job, and he soon grew concerned about Garfield'™s intention to replace the patronage system with a merit system, as the new president engaged in a very public battle with New York'™s Senator Roscoe Conkling over who would be appointed to the most prestigious and lucrative patronage job in the country: Collector of the Port of New York.

Charles Guiteau eventually decided the best way to handle this was to murder President Garfield so that Vice President Chester A. Arthur, a New Yorker and Conkling acolyte, would be elevated to the presidency.

Guiteau shot Garfield on July 2, 1881; the wounded President lingered until September 19.Vice President Arthur then became the new president and, to his credit, immediately distanced himself from Conkling. It was President Arthur who signed the Pendleton Act on January 16, 1883. That law reformed the Civil Service, as Garfield had desired, by instituting exams and qualification requirements for those seeking federal jobs. This was the beginning of the end for the patronage system.'

Thank you, Dr. Arrington. You will note that Todd said that it was the beginning of the end, not the end of patronage.

Do we still have Patronage? Sure do, neighbors! Even in the National Park Service? Yup! These are called Schedule C jobs and are awarded to deserving, helpful people by the political party that won the last election. This is sort of a sanitized, 'œLiving History' patronage relic of the Gilded Age, as the Schedule C jobs are relatively few in number and mainly deal with policy. (Nothing secret, neighbors! The Schedule C jobs are listed in a handy little book produced by the US Government Printing Office. It is called 'œThe Plum Book' because, among other things, it has a purple plum colored cover. (Who says the Federal government has no sense of humor?)

But what of our original question: lacking patronage, how DO you get a permanent job with the National Park Service?

Again, James Garfield National Historical Site was most helpful. According to Ranger Arrington:

'œJobs with the federal government, both permanent and temporary, as well as paid internships, are advertised on USA JOBS.  You may search by the type of job you are interested in and the agency. National Park Service jobs are found under the Department of Interior. Be sure to read the announcement very carefully to determine what documents you will need to submit. On-line submittal of your application is preferred.'

Now is there any other way? (Aside from that of Charles Guiteau).

Well, yes, neighbors, at least for the protection ranger (law enforcement) there is something known as the Pro Ranger Program.

You see, the NPS, along with the rest of the Department of Interior, has a 'œDiversity' problem. That is, the Department of Interior is the 'œWhitest' of all the Federal Departments. (It is also regarded by some as the most corrupt, but any cause-and-effect correlation could be interpreted as racist.)

Anyway, how to solve the Diversity problem? Rather than trying to recruit graduates, it was decided to seek colleges with large minority populations and set up a program to steer undergraduates to a guaranteed career in NPS law enforcement.

Undoubtedly, there will be (or are) more colleges, but the ones that show up on Google are Temple University in Philadelphia and the very enterprising San Antonio College, a two-year community college in San Antonio, Texas.

According to the Temple blurb: 'œUpon graduation from Temple University and successfully completing the Pro Ranger Philadelphia Program, participants are placed in a permanent career tenured law enforcement park ranger position with the National Park Service.'

San Antonio College says, 'œRather than recruit or find the next generation of NPS law enforcement rangers, the Pro Ranger Program is a proactive approach to creating them.'

So, neighbors, I guess where your child goes depends on whether he likes Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches or Mexican food!

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Comments

Then you would see them sequel as they did when Mike Snyder was director of the IMR and they called Core Ops a "reign of terror"

No doubt. Probably all the more reason it should happen.


Thank you JT, I followed your statement, understand and agree with it.


Mr ecbuck, I know the NPS can find folks of color who have experience. I have gone on recruitment trips to universities and colleges, found very qualified candidates, requested them to apply, and hired them. To improve our workforce, we should hire the candidate of color if experience levels are the same.

I have had some of my division chiefs attempt to hire a white male candidate when the person of color was more qualified. We discussed, and the person of color was hired instead of the white candidate.

I know some of you guys are uncomfortable working with folks of color. Ok, I understand the concern if you believe you may say something that may offend. How do you think a person of color feels when she or he is the only person of their culture working in a park with the typical staff make-up.

This issue is not easy for anyone, however, I believe we must get our demographics in line with our Country's demographics. We can agree to disagree. I am OK with that. It still is refreshing to have the discussion and learn from each other.

Do you believe we must resolve the hiring inequities? Do you believe we must create a welcoming environment for all?


Rick-

"some of the best employees I have had were first year seasonals who were excited about their jobs and didn't spend endless hours bitching about their working conditions."

If all you want is for people to smile and be excited about their jobs, I'm sure you are right.

When things actually need to get done though, it is the longer term seasonals who do them, even if you don't see it from the superintendent's office.

How many permanent employees do you think run chainsaw anymore? Rig and hook helicopter sling loads? Manage helicopters? Blast? Go out on the fireline? Very few, and those who do are aging and unlikely to be replaced by new permanent employees. Would you send out a first year seasonal to do any of those things? Would you invest the years and thousands of dollars it takes to train people to do these necessary tasks with the assumption that employees will move on once they are trained? There is now a huge body of knowledge which is mostly in the brains of term and temporary employees, and could easily be lost when those people leave for less tenuous employment. Once it is gone, it will take many years to rebuild.

I once had an NPS manager tell me: "I think the ideal is for people to do a job for 2-3 years and then leave, and longer than that and they get bitter." When I suggested that if everyone who worked for him longer than 3 years got bitter, the problem might lie with him rather than everyone else, he just gave me a vacant look.

There are some serious problems with NPS hiring practices, at great cost to park operations and taxpayer value. If you really want a more effective agency, better to admit the problems and try to fix them, rather than reflexively defend the NPS, come what may.


A lot of wisdom in your post, willj.


Do you believe we must resolve the hiring inequities? Do you believe we must create a welcoming environment for all?

Yes and yes. We should stop hiring based on race, sex, origin, orientation et al and focus exclusively on qualifications. To try to "fix" discrimination by discriminating is absurd as is your accusation of " some of you guys are uncomfortable working with folks of color."


As I have experienced much of what JT Reynolds has posted, not only in the hiring of racially diverse candidates (as well as women), I must agree. In a perfect world this issue might not be so contentious, however this is not the case, at least from my own perspective. There is an excellent book, Doris Kerns Goodwin, titled "THe Bully Pulpit" which tells the story of Teddy Roosevelt, President Taft, many of the very progressive people they associated themselves with and how (and why) they pushed many of the then Republican Party progressive reforms of the early 1900s. Very much worth the read for those interested in why (among many other issues) some of the "turn the clock back" political discourse of today is so disconcerting to many citizens.


Rick-

You posted an idea from a former senior manager. Regarding temporary seasonal employees he said:

"current law does not really allow them to be perceived as an easily accessed recruitment pool, even when there are vacancies."

Exactly. That is the problem. How can an organization like the NPS function at the highest level possible when the majority of their entry level and field staff are blocked from most avenues of promotion, yet college students with no relevant experience can be non competitively hired? How can this not be considered one of the major problems facing the agency?

The solution the manager proposed is frankly pretty out to lunch. He would throw away a whole generation of field workers, thousands of people with tens of thousands of years of experience in the parks, and replace them with SCAs. Seriously? A bunch of college kids working for cheap, replaced with new ones each year, with a chosen few handed permanent jobs non competitively? It would be a catastrophe for everyone involved. Volunteers would die on the job. Visitors would die due to failed emergency response. Hard won knowledge and skill that has been passed down for a couple generations would be lost. I realize that it is not your proposal, and you may not agree with it, but you took it seriously enough to post it.

How can you take this proposal seriously, when it is just a bizarre idea to circumvent a problem with the law, yet so cavalierly dismiss a well reasoned effort to fix the problem in question: “I am afraid that there is no legislative "fix" for this issue”?

I ask you to read the text of the bill, here:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr533ih/pdf/BILLS-113hr533ih.pdf

as well as an informational brief here:

www.nffe-fsc.org/documents3/Temp_Reform_Brief_140128.docx

Tell me what about this proposal is a bad idea. What about it doesn't fix the problem that your colleague was talking about when he said that “current law does not really allow (seasonals) to be perceived as an easily accessed recruitment pool, even when there are vacancies.”? I'd really like to know if there is a downside that I am missing, because I just don't see one. I'd like to know why organizations such as CNPSR and ANPR aren't pushing this as hard or harder than the NFFE. Management should want this just as much as the workers.


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