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A Wilderness Ranger is a Great Career Choice for Those Who Love the Great Outdoors

A career as a Wilderness Ranger sounds like a dream job to most people. With visions of rangers riding around in jeeps, looking at bears through binoculars, and being on the lookout for forest fires, it seems like a plum job for any nature enthusiast.

In fact, it may be a dream job if you like nature, but it does require more than just riding around in a 4-wheel drive and looking at bears all day. For instance, rangers on Sawyer Island off the coast of Alaska are trained to read visual emissions from the exhaust stacks of cruise ships in the area. In Montana's Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, rangers act as police if needed, taking reports regarding the misuse or destruction of any part of the wilderness area. These rangers also participate in constructing trails for hiking and collect data in the form of picture taking.

In fact, most wilderness rangers have roughly the same duties in regards to looking after the wilderness areas they are sworn to protect. In addition to policing the area, they also perform maintenance duties (including clean-up) on campsites, trails and recreation sites. They interact with visitors as well, providing information on the area, and informing visitors of rules and regulations. They post signs, check permits, provide education to visitors on such things as how to leave no sign upon departure, and what to do in case of a bear sighting, or other information that proves useful.

Wilderness rangers may also be expected to ride horseback or on donkeys, or backpack for several miles. This, naturally, would require that a wilderness ranger be physically fit, and able to walk long distances, sometimes carrying provisions.

The pay scale for wilderness rangers is around $35,000 a year, average. It's not bad, considering there's no required college degree for most positions, although there are some courses you can take in order to better prepare yourself for a career in this field. Most wilderness ranger positions are government funded, so benefits are good, and there are opportunities for advancement, although limited. Most wilderness rangers are expected to participate in intern programs or at least have some background in a related field.

If no background, a degree in ecology, natural resource management, or a related science might help get you into the field, although it's generally preferred that you start out as an intern for the experience. Most of the time, interns in wilderness ranger programs make only a small stipend, usually less than $10,000 a year, just enough to supply basic needs, such as food and toiletries or perhaps such things as vehicle expenses. Interns are usually provided sleeping quarters, so they have no need to pay rent or utilities, and since they'll spend the entire season in the wilderness, there isn't much need for cash on hand. Internships last only one season usually, but it's something that many would-be wilderness rangers find they must do in order to get the job.

One other thing to consider is that wilderness rangers work outside most of the time, in all kinds of weather. If you can handle that, and if you have a love of the great outdoors, a wilderness ranger might be the perfect career choice for you.

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