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I'd cast a wide net with GIS skills, it's basically indispensable for the majority of private and public work. If I wasn't doing trails that's the first skilled position I'd be looking at.
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Jul 19, 2020 02:45
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Nthing GIS stuff, if you can get the cert and experince take it. Same with database design stuff.
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Jul 19, 2020 02:54
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Yeah, I'm probably gonna see about a cert this semester. Most of my work experience has been in abstract space-time data cube analysis or Community Risk Assessments for communities on the WUI so while I'd absolutely love to hop into that side of GIS, I guess the amount of jobs in that area is super small so I'll probably end up either waiting for a pathways program to open up or working with some county somewhere on their poopwater/electricity to round out my experience while F5ing governmentjobs.com 
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Jul 19, 2020 02:58
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My people. I went to grad school so that I could work outdoors in public land management, but somehow I got roped into university teaching. So now I get to teach the folks who do all the fun work. I'm not very plugged in on the professional side of things, but I might be able to help if you're interested in the college part.
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Jul 19, 2020 03:37
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Kazak_Hstan posted:The number of years you generally have to spend as a seasonal, paying out of your own pocket to move twice a year, not getting benefits (though seasonals get health insurance now), not having access to offseason training, paying for your own training, extreme variance in housing, etc. I mean a lot of that is how most agencies function for outdoor work. BLM was the same, so is state parks. I did 4 seasons at BLM, only one was in competitive service so I never got my hours to get the application boost. Amost all projects I had started never moved forward after I left, I was also literally the last ranger standing so no one trained the girl who took my place and she survived less than a season. I did get lucky with my permanent, I could move at just the right time and I had the exact mix of skills they needed. Also, I totally gave up on my actual passion and just accepted that I could actually get parks work. Never got hired for even a seasonal fisheries job. I will say, the NPS LE stuff is hosed. I have a buddy who went that route, did the academy in WA and I could never get over that he had to pay that much out of pocket.
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Jul 19, 2020 03:45
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Fitzy Fitz posted:My people. How closely does your university work with land trusts and conservancies and the like?
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Jul 19, 2020 05:10
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Pinus Porcus posted:I mean a lot of that is how most agencies function for outdoor work. BLM was the same, so is state parks. I did 4 seasons at BLM, only one was in competitive service so I never got my hours to get the application boost. Amost all projects I had started never moved forward after I left, I was also literally the last ranger standing so no one trained the girl who took my place and she survived less than a season. That’s true, however, I’ve seen a bunch of people leave for FWS / BLM / FS and seem pretty happy about it, and nobody doing the opposite comes to mind.
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Jul 19, 2020 07:30
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thatguy posted:How closely does your university work with land trusts and conservancies and the like? Not that closely, but we're a land grant school, so we sort of do that internally, so to speak.. But I'm sure we have tons of informal connections through faculty relationships, student projects, and alumni employment, etc. We post plenty of land trust positions on our job board.
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Jul 19, 2020 15:26
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Kazak_Hstan posted:That’s true, however, I’ve seen a bunch of people leave for FWS / BLM / FS and seem pretty happy about it, and nobody doing the opposite comes to mind. I guess that probably depends on locale. Everyone I know fled BLM for FS/NPS and were happy about it  . Or we all just hate where we had to bust our seasonal chops!
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Jul 19, 2020 15:28
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Not that closely, but we're a land grant school, so we sort of do that internally, so to speak.. But I'm sure we have tons of informal connections through faculty relationships, student projects, and alumni employment, etc. We post plenty of land trust positions on our job board. I live near clemson, which is another land grant university and I'm both looking to network for jerbs but way more I'm looking for allies trying to get a bike network project off the ground in the upstate of SC, and the local imba chapter is both too far away and not particularly effective. Theres a lot of state and public lands there, but I've never navigated through the advocacy side of things when I'm trying to get something done that I wont necessarily be working on. Its infuriating to me since asheville is the eastern mecca of biking and South Carolina has both more contiguous land and it's less developed, yet is a black hole for developed rec.
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Jul 19, 2020 16:52
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thatguy posted:I live near clemson, which is another land grant university and I'm both looking to network for jerbs but way more I'm looking for allies trying to get a bike network project off the ground in the upstate of SC, and the local imba chapter is both too far away and not particularly effective. Theres a lot of state and public lands there, but I've never navigated through the advocacy side of things when I'm trying to get something done that I wont necessarily be working on. Its infuriating to me since asheville is the eastern mecca of biking and South Carolina has both more contiguous land and it's less developed, yet is a black hole for developed rec. Hmm. I helped out a bit with some MTB trail projects here, but the majority of the work was done by the local SORBA chapter. The city parks department was happy enough to give them access to some undeveloped park land as long as SORBA raised the money and did the work. I remember there being a good bit of out-of-town interest in the project just because people were happy to have another regional trail destination. All I can think of is cold contacting the landholders, Clemson's PRTM department, and any regional trail/conservancy organizations that might be relevant, but it sounds like you're already on that. If you can find an interested landowner, you might be able to source volunteer labor from college kids who need trailbuilding experience and bikers who want trails. You'd probably still need to raise money to hire an actual trail builder though.
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Jul 19, 2020 17:31
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Hmm. I helped out a bit with some MTB trail projects here, but the majority of the work was done by the local SORBA chapter. The city parks department was happy enough to give them access to some undeveloped park land as long as SORBA raised the money and did the work. I remember there being a good bit of out-of-town interest in the project just because people were happy to have another regional trail destination. All I can think of is cold contacting the landholders, Clemson's PRTM department, and any regional trail/conservancy organizations that might be relevant, but it sounds like you're already on that. If you can find an interested landowner, you might be able to source volunteer labor from college kids who need trailbuilding experience and bikers who want trails. You'd probably still need to raise money to hire an actual trail builder though. This specific sorba/imba chapter is tiny, I've already contacted them about this. Theyre also not real close, which is another problem. Usually on any design/build or build if they aren't yet involved they're the first people I go to, functioning groups are great when things work out. I do trail building for a living so I'm not too concerned about the construction and design part. I guess my real part is we're doing a large scale project near denver, and it's a mature area where rec is king. Land is limited and utterly hammered, so I see the clear potential every single day for city and counties, and where I live is highly rural, undeveloped and they'd kill for consistent traffic like the cities here are fighting over. It's just frustrating to me, because I legit love the upstate of SC and it's a rare or small project that I get over there, when it was literally nothing for the city here to throw 6 figures around. thatguy fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Jul 19, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 17:45
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Yeah, the Southeast is really playing catch-up right now wrt trail networks. Local municipalities are starting to see the value, but they have so little money to spare. And then paved walking/cycling trails (greenway and rail-to-trail) get the most attention because they reach the most people. I'm a little surprised there isn't more interest in your area, but maybe everyone's just waiting for someone to connect them.
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Jul 19, 2020 19:42
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After reading all this, I guess I got pretty lucky in only doing one FS seasonal job and then getting hired on by them as a permanent right afterwards. It definitely was not due to my qualifications, I just happened to be there at the right time. That was my first seasonal position and I wasn't really familiar with any of the USDA or DOI agencies or the job situations there. I have met a bunch of people who have done season after season and haven't managed to land a permanent job. Seems like a real crapshoot, especially for wildlife and rec stuff. I think I applied for over a hundred positions my first time around and it just gets exhausting. I am really glad I have more stable employment and don't have to worry about applying for things every six months, but at the same time I'm kind of jealous of the people I know who get to live and work in all these cool places and can just go wherever. I know this one dude who worked at Glacier for a bit and then did wildlife surveys in Hawaii and he even got housing for it too. But I have a TSP now and that's cool too I guess...
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Jul 19, 2020 21:19
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wizardofloneliness posted:After reading all this, I guess I got pretty lucky in only doing one FS seasonal job and then getting hired on by them as a permanent right afterwards. It definitely was not due to my qualifications, I just happened to be there at the right time. That was my first seasonal position and I wasn't really familiar with any of the USDA or DOI agencies or the job situations there. I have met a bunch of people who have done season after season and haven't managed to land a permanent job. Seems like a real crapshoot, especially for wildlife and rec stuff. I think I applied for over a hundred positions my first time around and it just gets exhausting. I am really glad I have more stable employment and don't have to worry about applying for things every six months, but at the same time I'm kind of jealous of the people I know who get to live and work in all these cool places and can just go wherever. I know this one dude who worked at Glacier for a bit and then did wildlife surveys in Hawaii and he even got housing for it too. But I have a TSP now and that's cool too I guess... This isn't exactly the norm but one of our inspectors In bitterroot NF was seasonal temp and a substitute teacher for 17 years before he finally got benefits. Hes one of those people you absolutely wanted hired too, a complete true believer who always put in more work than required, and was painfully cheerful and outgoing in every single interaction with the public no matter what.
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Jul 19, 2020 21:57
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Sometimes you get lucky, enjoy it and don’t look back! If you’re actually looking longingly at the seasonal life see if you can find a subject to furlough position. Be very careful, because when budgets get tight you can wind up with a six month furlough when you though the bargain was nine on three off, but you can have an offseason *and* TSP and not constantly apply for jobs. Making money year round is, I think, the way to go, but there is a lot to be said for the subject to furlough life.
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Jul 19, 2020 23:08
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Also, check out details. They can be a fun way to work a new position in a new place.
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Jul 19, 2020 23:13
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How has it taken me this long to find this thread? Ex-firefighter (still do the pack test if just to qualify for the discounts), current office goon. Mostly play with aircraft and helicopters from the office these days. Its dead in my area firewise, so I'm prepping for a 30 day assignment to somewhere. Broke 1000 OT last year, hoping for the same now!
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Jul 22, 2020 02:36
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The new craze rn with my crew is putting in sleeping platforms in the back of our trucks/cars and I am honestly very tempted and will likely do so on my 6 off.
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Jul 22, 2020 06:20
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sparkmaster posted:How has it taken me this long to find this thread? Still does pack test, plays with aircraft.. are there other jumper goons? That would blow my mind Edit nvm you got 1k OT you arent jumping
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Jul 22, 2020 16:01
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Telsa Cola posted:The new craze rn with my crew is putting in sleeping platforms in the back of our trucks/cars and I am honestly very tempted and will likely do so on my 6 off. I have a sleeping platform in my truck cap I use for camping. It's fairly comfortable with a small air mattress, plenty of room. It also breaks down to increase storage. I would reccomend a high top cap though, I have a low top and can't sit up all the way on the platform, it's fairly annoying. But the design was fairly simple, one sheet of plywood and two two by fours was all I needed. https://youtu.be/RmVR6Ta74aE Or just get a low cot, that seems really popular.
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Jul 22, 2020 16:40
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sparkmaster posted:How has it taken me this long to find this thread? Are you a helicopter manager / aviation manager etc.? I’ve thought that could be an interesting direction to go some day depending on what my terminal career ambitions wind up being.
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Jul 22, 2020 18:51
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Still does pack test, plays with aircraft.. are there other jumper goons? That would blow my mind I'm fairly ugly without a shirt on, so that naturally precludes me from being a jumper. After my crew days (never a shot so no beaucoup $$$) I got into dispatch of all things. Boy howdy there is amazing cash in that. Go out occasionally on the engine to keep my quals up. But mostly just talk to airplanes and kick my feet up these days.
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Jul 22, 2020 19:05
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My WUI patrol experience: welcome to the land of locked gates, thousand dollar per thirty feet fences, and customers with properties that are a jungle of cedars telling me that any slash left behind was a "major fire hazard". I'm actually starting to like the people who fly Trump flags in their front yard because they don't give a poo poo about what I mark for removal. I offered a guy free wood removal on a 40" DBH oak tree and he turned it down because "Oh, I've got a Stihl 660, I can buck it up". Alright my dude, have fun with that.
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Jul 22, 2020 20:16
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Every time I think of WUI all I think of is this girl from Big Timber MT we hired telling us "oh sorry I can't come in this week another bear broke into our house while we were gone, ate everything and tore up all our furniture then we had to shoot him because he wouldn't leave
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Jul 22, 2020 21:49
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A White Guy posted:My WUI patrol experience: welcome to the land of locked gates, thousand dollar per thirty feet fences, and customers with properties that are a jungle of cedars telling me that any slash left behind was a "major fire hazard". He has a big magnum that sounds like a ton of fun and why would I give you a shitload of good wood? That goes down so quick lol, of course he wouldn't take that Hes literally hoping for trees that big with that saw. You go out of your way to cut stuff like that if you're about that life and own a 660 Harry Potter on Ice fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jul 22, 2020 |
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Jul 22, 2020 21:52
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poo poo, at the point where you've got a 660 you might just have an Alaskan Mill lying around somewhere.
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Jul 23, 2020 00:41
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Yeah, I figured that's the reason. You're not gonna trim hedges with a 660, though I did that for a CalTrans project with a 660 once because it was the only working saw we had, and it sucked super loving hard. Sharpening a four ft long chain in the crawl position will give you one sore rear end. All the loggers I've seen working will generally do everything with a 461 or Husqvarna equivalent and have a 660 or 880 sitting in the truck for monster tier falls/getting pinched. Heaving that heavy motherfucker around all day will make you one tired fella. I got to use a Husqvarna 4120 on a project once and after about an hour, I put it down in favor of a way smaller saw. Yeah, it's powerful beyond belief but it's basically a motorcycle motor with a bar on it and it will wear your rear end down.
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Jul 23, 2020 16:56
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the loving cat dealer tricked me into buying 2, as soon as I saw them plopped down I immediately got a feeling of dread
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Jul 24, 2020 04:59
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thatguy posted:the loving cat dealer tricked me into buying 2, as soon as I saw them plopped down I immediately got a feeling of dread You have to get young cats in pairs so they don't get lonely. Try adopting an older one next time.
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Jul 24, 2020 17:40
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Dear fire/tree cutting crews, Stop dropping your trash and braided cables after you cut poo poo down and the like. No one wants to record that poo poo in 40 years I mean I wanted that today because it was a nice break from surveying in the rain but still. Also I know people are probably better at this then they were in the past. Telsa Cola fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jul 26, 2020 |
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Jul 26, 2020 04:21
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It's not littering, it's historical trash! I had a tree get no-worked because it was inside of a
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Jul 27, 2020 19:31
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A White Guy posted:It's not littering, it's historical trash! Post+user name is pretty gross, but hard to expect anymore these days I guess Obviously gently caress leaving trash behind Harry Potter on Ice fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Jul 27, 2020 |
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Jul 27, 2020 21:03
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They told me fiber tape was biodegradable!
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Jul 27, 2020 21:13
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A White Guy posted:It's not littering, it's historical trash! I remember getting told we had to be careful about picking up trash at an old mill site turned fishing/camping spot. Anything over 50 years was archeology's domain. Someone threw their Pepsi out a window in 1960? Archeological find! Thank goodness certain trash breaks down really, really fast...
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Jul 28, 2020 06:11
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Same rule applies to shipwrecks. Sank more than 50 years ago? Not salvage anymore!
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Jul 28, 2020 12:13
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Whatup thread. I do fish squeezing on big rivers in Colorado and Utah. Managed to make a career out of it, and I've worked for GBI/USFWS, state of Arkansas, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, USGS, and a couple universities. I hire a crew of (mostly) university students every summer, so I may have some insight on getting jobs or can at least say "Yeah that fuckin sucks," depending on how the job market is.
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Jul 30, 2020 22:43
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Whatup thread. I could use some job advice. I just finished my anthropology degree this past spring semester, had been looking into a career in CRM and was going to sign up for an archaeology field school, which I understand is a prerequisite for the job everywhere. Problem is, due to COVID-19, all the field schools I had been considering got canceled (I hadn't done one prior to graduation due to the job I had at the time; I had been using all my PTO to attend classes during the school year). I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I sort of jobs I could look for in the mean time that would contribute to a career focused on cultural/environmental preservation.
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Aug 2, 2020 22:21
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Meaty Ore posted:I could use some job advice. I just finished my anthropology degree this past spring semester, had been looking into a career in CRM and was going to sign up for an archaeology field school, which I understand is a prerequisite for the job everywhere. Problem is, due to COVID-19, all the field schools I had been considering got canceled (I hadn't done one prior to graduation due to the job I had at the time; I had been using all my PTO to attend classes during the school year). I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I sort of jobs I could look for in the mean time that would contribute to a career focused on cultural/environmental preservation. If you have a BA in anthro there is a fairly good chance a CRM firm will overlook the field school, especially if you explain the situation and have some archaeological experience. What area of the States are you in? Firms around me in the southwest are loving starving for techs. Also hope you are in shape because survey can absolutely kick your rear end. I do CRM for a living so ask me whatever. Telsa Cola fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Aug 3, 2020 |
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Aug 3, 2020 00:40
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Meaty Ore posted:I could use some job advice. I just finished my anthropology degree this past spring semester, had been looking into a career in CRM and was going to sign up for an archaeology field school, which I understand is a prerequisite for the job everywhere. Problem is, due to COVID-19, all the field schools I had been considering got canceled (I hadn't done one prior to graduation due to the job I had at the time; I had been using all my PTO to attend classes during the school year). I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I sort of jobs I could look for in the mean time that would contribute to a career focused on cultural/environmental preservation. The thing I’ve found about a lot of employers of technicians in natural resource disciplines (myself included), is that an ability to do field work in lovely conditions, live in relative discomfort a lot of the time, work independently and manage a project successfully, and not need babysitting from a supervisor is more important than a specific kind of scientific knowledge or schooling. My wife managed a bird survey project for about 5 years, and she screened for backpackers, through hikers, and fit people who lived in the wilderness for fun, because that’s basically what the field work was. Probably fewer than half her crew of 12-14 was ever a bird person. I mostly hire fish people, but that’s because I have access to a lot of them and my field work is attractive to them. But I will always choose someone with the aforementioned skills before a nerdy fisheries student with no experience living alone in a tent because that’s more important to my projects being completed. Every NR agency working in the Colorado river basin hires a bunch of whitewater rafters and guides because it’s easier to teach a boat operator to catch and identify fish than it is to teach a biologist to row big rivers. So I guess my point is to do a good assessment of the skills you have adjacent to your focus and look for jobs that need that foundation. What do you do for fun? I assume most people in NR/cultural/environmental work are in it because they like being outside, and have some kind of recreation that builds a familiarity and comfort in it. Most biological survey work entails some amount of hiking, camping, four wheeling, etc, so if you can do all that, there are researchers that need you. Flexibility and a relatively broad view of the work you’re willing to do are always necessary in these fields, but especially in these weird times. National wildlife refuges, state parks, and probably some national parks like having people with cultural resource experience, because there’s usually some element of interpretive focus there. Especially if you are open to stuff like groundskeeping and equipment operation. USAJobs and the Texas A&M wildlife and fisheries job board (wfsc.tamu.edu/jobboard or something like that) are the best job lists that I know of. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Aug 3, 2020 |
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Aug 3, 2020 05:21
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