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I had this plan drawn out that I wanted to go for my Master’s degree and work for a museum or historic site, but now I don’t know if I want to do it. I know the national park service is within the same field, so I was wondering if their employees needed a graduate degree to get a job. It might possibly be another path I want to go down.
I had this plan drawn out that I wanted to go for my Master’s degree and work for a museum or historic site, but now I don’t know if I want to do it. I know the national park service is within the same field, so I was wondering if their employees needed a graduate degree to get a job. It might possibly be another path I want to go down.
I've known people who worked for them who didn't have graduate degrees. It depends on the job. Other than that, I know nothing about how to go about getting a job with them.
I assume that like most agencies, they post their vacancies on USAJobs.gov, so check out a few of their listings and see what the requirements are.
As with any company anywhere, the qualifications you'll need depends on what you want to do. For some of their jobs, a graduate degree might be necessary or desirable. For others, high school might be fine. There isn't just one job in any agency or company with one set of requirements.
I had this plan drawn out that I wanted to go for my Master’s degree and work for a museum or historic site, but now I don’t know if I want to do it. I know the national park service is within the same field, so I was wondering if their employees needed a graduate degree to get a job. It might possibly be another path I want to go down.
Do you mean you want to be a park historian? Because the park service is huge and had jobs ranging from federal police to wildlife biologists to a hundred other things. Some of the jobs under the science mission will certainly require an advanced degree, the interpretive stuff less so. But it is very, very hard to get a full time NPS job. Even the listings over at USAJOBS will make you think there are more openings than there are but it gives an idea of what types of jobs and requirements are out there.
Federal employment is affected by many factors, including current political climate, the funding of your specific agency, and your own qualifications. A common trend in many agencies is contracting out the work done by lower level employees. If you're looking for a federal job, working as a contractor might give you a leg up to know when fed jobs become available, but your contracting experience won't count as federal experience in your application.
I would not plan your life around seeking a federal job. If it's something you want though, plan on applying and then waiting up to a year before hearing anything. Plan on your first employment to be a 2-3 year "term" position, with the option to apply for a permanent job at the end of the term. The only sure legs up for federal employment are prior military experience, or prior federal experience. It's not uncommon for people to put some years in at less desirable posts, such as the prison system, to ultimately get a desirable position elsewhere.
I had this plan drawn out that I wanted to go for my Master’s degree and work for a museum or historic site, but now I don’t know if I want to do it. I know the national park service is within the same field, so I was wondering if their employees needed a graduate degree to get a job. It might possibly be another path I want to go down.
Yes and no. Since you were planning on going to grad school anyway, I'd recommend you do that, as it will increase your chances not only of getting a job, but of moving up in the administrative hierarchy. To figure out what program to choose, look at job listings, and see what the requirements are. Forestry is one field that fits the bill. Probably a degree in the environmental science realm, too. You may need to do some science pre-requisites to qualify for entry into a grad program like that. It's a great goal, though, OP.
Aside from the NPS, there are also State park services. California has a huge state park system, for example. You could check out state park service job listings, too. And fyi, in order to get a job with just a BA, it would have to be a science-related BA, like biology or zoology. Job-wise, also consider the Fish & Wildlife Service.
My wife and I had a conversation about Park Service careers with an employee one time because it seemed like a potential career path for our son.
It sounds as though it's not an easy place to get a job--more people want to work there than they have openings. In addition, your assignment is totally at their mercy, so you could live in Vermont, as we do, and find that the only place with a job for you is Kentucky or North Dakota, so it could be you go there or no job.
Apparently there are also people who start out working at seasonal jobs for years before they can catch on with a permanent, full-time jobs.
Still, good luck if that's what you want to do. It's a real public service.
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