Foo - Conservation-career change-help

Hey, I'm thinking of taking courses to go for something like a conservation officer or taking environmental studies for something in the private sector. Is anyone else in this field? is this a stupid decision?:o I'm not going to advance much more in pay or position, and I need to go somewhere where the housing prices aren't 400,000! If anyone has any advice that would be great. Oh, and would my age hold me back? (im turning 28).
Thanks

first of all, i envy you. definitely a cool profession.

i'm not in the field but i am currently doing some hr consulting with some park districts and forest preserve districts in my current job.

some advice;

i believe most state dnr's, county fp's etc. require their officers to have successfully graduated from the law enforcement academy. look into the when, where, how's, etc. also, a degree in law enforcement, forestry, conservation, etc. would work to your advantage.

also, look into the trends for the profession. the u.s. bureau of labor statistics prints an annual occupation outlook survey that provides demographics, expected market trends, etc. for various occupations. the bls is an excellent place to begin researching potential careers. http://stats.bls.gov/

also, contact your state dnr (or equivalent agency). your county park or forest preserve district may even be more accessible. ask to speak to the human resources department. if you can, try to set up a meeting to view the job description, hiring process, qualifications, educational requirements, etc.

another resource could be the career services department at the college where you take these courses.

good luck! "he who loves what he does will never work a day in his life."




whoops! just noticed you're from canada. find the provincial and canadian federal equivalents to the aforementioned agencies.

Look into the Natiuonal Park Service system. If you ahve a college degee, and are willing to go anywhere, you might have a good shot at it; they DO prefer people with some sort of law enforcement or criminal justice backround, but they also require a 9 week course that yu have to pay for that teaches you all that law enforcement stuff.

The pay might not be great, but you usually get housing & a vehicle with the job.

The pay might not be great, but you usually get housing & a vehicle with the job.
Yeah, the whole reason i'm leaving calgary is because of the housing situation here. A bacheloris going for 200,000. There are about 10-20 times that number of properties, for half the price, around BC. Gives you an idea of what i'm looking at. When the oil's done, so will most of this city's economy. I don't need to be stuck with 200-300,000 mortgage! If you want to make 6 figures, look towards oil.:rolleyes:, the whole reason I want to do something regarding the environment. I like my current job, and i'm good at it, but i'll never crack more than 10-15,000 more a year. I have to work with a lot of idiot man-children as well. There are some good courses i've been checking out online in BC, one looks like it was tailor-made for the job. Thanks for all the help.

My info pertains to the US NPS, not Canadian, eh? Probably about the same thing, though.

Yeah, the whole reason i'm leaving calgary is because of the housing situation here.

but you'll be leaving the flames!!!!

but you'll be leaving the flames!!!!
Yeah, but it's not fun watching the flames from a dept. store window when you're homeless...;)
I'm kind of tired of this city anyway, I need to be free
after 5 years, i'd rather have this over traffic