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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

Hi - Can anyone touch on nepotism in the parks?

I remember talking to one of the rangers from Pea Ridge Battlefield a few years ago. He told me that unless you were a "one eyed one legged lesbian of color" you would not get a job with NPS. Lo and behold, however, the daughter of the Chief Ranger at GW Carver National Monument who is white and not a veteran now has a position at Pea Ridge. I know this because she was bragging about it to me. I am not affiliated with NPS and much of what I do know about it comes from this insightful site, so I would like to hear those with NPS experience address any issues of nepotism that may exist. Thank you!


"As too many of my progressive colleagues do?" And by the way, you are absolutely right about the ranger at Pea Rige. Those kind of off hand comments have no place in an exchange between an employee and a visitor. Thanks for pointng that out.

Rick


Gus, nepotism is rampant. I recall looking at a list of personnel at one park and probably more than half of the last names of people at the headquarters repeated. And that didn't even include the several instances of women who didn't take their husband's name. I've seen positions created for spouses and even seen organizational structures changed to get around the rule that prohibits supervising a family member. As reported in other NPT articles a seasonal ranger at Mesa Verde reported this kind of corruption and was subjected to reprisals by the NPS leadership. Here is a link to his report: http://www.schundler.net/CuratorPosition2-2-2010toOIG.pdf

This is an additional reason for the lack of minorities in the NPS -so many of the jobs go to folks who are family.

To a certain extent this is understandable given that parks are often in remote communities and people meet and marry each other. If you are in some remote place and you needed a clerk at HQ for example, it probably made sense in the old days to give the job to the spouse of a ranger for reasons such as not wanting to further stretch limited housing etc.

One thing that makes it difficult for a male to get anywhere in interpretation is that division has often been used as a place to put the wives and girlfriends of law enforcement rangers and maintenance personnel. No doubt interpretation is used to make up for the lack of women in other park divisions. I would guess that maybe 70% of interp chiefs in parks are women and at least 65% of permanent employees in interpretation are women --not quite representative of the face of America Maybe we need more "out reach" for men in interpretation. :)

The bottom line is there are enough loopholes in the "merit" system for crafty supervisors, and crafty HR specialists, to get virtually whoever they want into a job.

I'd also add Gus that if that Pea Ridge Ranger was in uniform, and on the clock, when he told you that it was very unprofessional, and dumb, for him to do so. I have never been a believer in pushing personal opinions and political views on visitors as too many of my progressive colleagues do.


ebuck, I am sure there are many in the NPS leadership who would quietly support the change in law you propose right up until the moment that folks with GS numbers in double digits had their benefits and job security threatened in the name of cost savings. 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"


Howdy All, I'm sure we all can share examples of how selecting officials have used past and current hiring authorities to select inidividuals they desire. This demonstrates these folks did their research and determined how to use the authorities to their advantage. Those of you who are still working for the NPS, do your research and use the system to your advantage. It is obvious to me that those of us who are sharing our thoughts will not agree totally, and this is OK. I know what I did as a superintendent to ensure I had staff that functioned to carry out our mission. I did not violate any laws while hiring entry level staff (we created a welcoming environment, provided effective training, and help these employees grow), and we hired upper level staff as well. We hired white males, white females, native peoples, pacific islanders, latinos, etc.. We did not hire any asian folks at Death Valley, however, we were successful at Manzanar. Some of the current hiring authorities, Pathways as an example, will give some of our returning veterans a opportunity to work for the NPS. I totally support this program, and believe the NPS will get some quality folks, and many will not hit the ground running. However, with some time, these vets will develop into some good employees. All I hope those of you who are still working for the NPS and are selecting officials, please do not just have staff members that look like you. You will discover your organizations will be more effective, in many ways.

I'm signing off for now and hope those of you who believe the NPS is not serving you well will share your recommendation for improving the hiring of staff with your supervisors, or with someone who has the authority to make a different. Good luck boys and girls, stay safe and keep on protecting the resources.


Rmackie, in my experience the chain of command is fairly useless in addressing this issue. You just end up being labeled a bitter troublemaker. See Rick's "...endless hours bitching about their working conditions" above. We do try to educate our coworkers, management, the public, and whoever else comes along, but there is only so much you can do when you can be dismissed at the wave of a bureaucrat's hand. As a seasonal you are seen, rightly or not, as not truly informed and just trying to better your own lot. Management, both retired and active, need to step up and push this issue. They will be seen as having credibility on the big picture, and not having a personal stake in it. They have personal connections at the policy level. They have ironclad job security or a pension, they no longer have to worry about making a living and can say what needs to be said. If every level of the organization is saying something needs to happen, it will get taken much more seriously than if it is just a few squeaks coming from the bottom now and then.

I realize that it is easy to think that if the system worked for you, and you are top notch, then the system itself must be top notch, and the people who it doesn't work for just aren't up to snuff. Obviously that is true in some cases, but in recent years I have to say that the average quality of the people who I have seen let go or otherwise treated poorly has been much higher than that of those who management has gone out of their way to help and promote.

I think you all need to remember that it is not the same system now as when you were coming up. The 1039 hour limit only came about in 1994. Before that a seasonal could work year round if they were needed, and many did work far more than 6 months a year. You could raise a family on 9 months a year. It used to be that if you eventually did get permanent, your seasonal years could count toward the 30 you need for retirement. That is no longer the case. Health insurance is a much bigger deal now, as the cost of medical care has risen far faster than wages. There are just fewer permanent jobs, at least in the front line roles. I, and most of the people I came up with who are still in the business, are doing jobs which when we started, were being done by your generation as permanent employees. As the baby boomers retired, we moved into the jobs, but as seasonals, terms at best. I think that when you were starting out, the higher levels of the NPS were more focused on park operations, and saw it as their job to keep good workers around. I just don't see that now, at least not in the parks I know personally. The bosses don't seem to care about anything real anymore. This all mirrors what is going on in the labor market as a whole, but it is neither cost effective nor good for the agency in any way. I have seen far too many good people leave recently, and take their difficult to replace skills with them.

The NPS was good to you, and if you care about the future of the agency, you should use the credibility you have as retirees to push Congress and the NPS to do whatever they have to do to retain the people who have been keeping it running over the last decade or two. When people advocate replacing us with Public Land Corps Act interns, they need to be roundly denounced, no mater how “senior” they are. When retired managers strut around saying, in effect, "I got mine, screw you", they need to be called on it. People need to have it beat into their heads that long term seasonals are the backbone of the organization. We are not interchangeable. We need to have competitive status, at the very least. The parks, and the staff who run them, need to be looked at again as the core of the agency, rather than just as an advertisement for a bigger budget for the NPS.


Superintendent Reynolds, I would agree in cases where candidates have equal qualification the tie to go to the minority candidate but how do you tell from someone's job application their race or ethnicity? That kind of information isn't supposed to be on applications. And if it was someone you already knew therefore giving you knowledge of those personal, supposedly irrelevant, factors could it be you were getting close to the line of prohibited personnel practice #2?

http://www.osc.gov/pppwhatare.htm


As a former "year-round" seasonal park ranger-naturalist, with supervisory responsibilities (1969-71) in Yosemite Valley, I support Perpetual Seasonal and willj for commenting here on the importance and plight of seasonal employees.

Similar issues extend, of course, to the use of VIP's performing assigned duties that were once covered by paid employees.

With respect to the relationship between managers and front line workers, in my era, which is a time period just prior to when Rick and JT began their tenure in Yosemite, I felt the rapport between park management and the professional team of park ranger-naturalists and protection rangers was outstanding. Of course, at that time, our team of seasonal and permanent staff was nearly entirely composed of white males, with a few females. Julia Parker, renowned for her work in reviving knowledge of Native American arts and crafts, was employed with the Yosemite Natural History Association. I believe her husband worked in maintenance.

I had heard over the years that one reason that the NPS professional naturalist series was eventually abolished was to make it easier for the interpretive division to increase diversity and hire outside the academic disciplines of the natural and cultural sciences. As I mentioned in a previous comment, great strides were made during the 1970's and 80's to hire females, despite the large number of Vietnam veterans that had entered the Civil Service employment pool. Efforts were made to increase diversity at all levels.

I am dismayed to read comments about the perceived decline in NPS management concern for the quality of performance of duty. I hope this perception is not a systematic issue. Management concern for the quality of performance of front line staff was very evident in my era. I recall the park superintendent attending my campfire programs, and the assistant superintendant helping out at the visitor center information desk.

Some years ago I was reading the autobiography of Dr. Alvin Weinberg, one of the early legendary directors of the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. In this book, Dr. Weinberg reminisced about his performance as an administrator and manager of this highly accomplished research institution. He said, "Basically, upper management at ORNL had two main objectives, (a) maintain standards and (b) demonstrate that we cared about the content and quality of their research." I believe these same two simple principles should apply to NPS management as well.

Therefore, when it comes to recruiting and hiring new employees, I believe that education, knowledge, experience, skills, and passion for the resource should be of paramount importance. If it's not, then this may probably be a contributing cause to the low ranking career employees are giving the NPS as among the best places to work in the Federal Government.


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