There are many different career options available to you as a Forest Ranger. You can work as a park ranger, a forest fire fighter or even a game warden. But before you start looking for jobs in your area, it’s important that you know what it takes to become a Forest Ranger.
Education Requirements
A degree in forestry is the most common educational background for Forest Rangers. You will also need at least two years of experience working with the public, such as being a lifeguard or camp counselor. The national minimum requirement is four years of college education or an associate degree. In most cases, however, this does not meet the state’s requirements for forest rangership.
Experience Requirements
Experience is one of the most important factors in getting hired as a Forest Ranger because it gives employers proof that you have what it takes to succeed on the job. There are several ways to get this experience: you can volunteer with an organization like The National Park Service (NPS), The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or The Bureau of Land Management (BLM). You can also enroll in an internship program offered by these agencies where they train people who want to pursue careers in natural resource management professions such as forestry or wildlife conservation management fields like wildlife biology
How To Become Forest Ranger
A forest ranger helps in preserving the state and national forests. These professionals are responsible for safeguarding, protecting and supervising a forest segment to keep the public safe from threats. If you have a passion for becoming a forest ranger, it might be beneficial to understand what this job role entails. In this article, we answer “what does a forest ranger do”, explore the reasons for becoming one and understand the skills and steps required to become a successful forest ranger.
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What does a forest ranger do?
Forest rangers work with law enforcement departments and public conservative groups to help maintain and protect national and state forests. Some duties of a forest ranger are:
- advise lumbar industry representatives and landowners on various forestry matters and educational programmes
- preserve public amenities like trails and campgrounds
- enforce law and order in the forest
- educate public about the conservation of wildlife and plants
- prevent fires through the construction of fire lines
- maintain forest inventory by tree marking
- keep track of campers and hikers by use of checkpoints at the park or forest entry
- work in conjugation with local firefighters inputting and controlling out the fire
- conduct examination to determine the cause and source of fire
- coordinate and lead search team through forest
- conduct fire safety training for campers and hikers to teach them how to control and douse campfires
- educate campers on ways to navigate the trail and marketers to ensure they do not lose their way
- prevent illegal hunting and poaching in the forest
- reduce instances of trespassing, vandalism and solicitation
- prevent the fragile forest environment by preventing timber cutting
- prohibit dumping of hazardous waste in the forest
- collect tree seeds and plan tree seedlings
- maintain forestry and firefighting equipment
- respond to emergencies and participate in various search and rescue operations
- prohibit access to the fragile ecosystem of the national park or forest
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Reasons for becoming a forest ranger
Here are a few reasons you can become a forest ranger:
- Rewarding career: It is a rewarding career for those who want to work in an open environment free from cubicles and computers.
- Government job: A forest ranger is a government job, making it a highly stable career choice.
- Perks and benefits: A forest ranger receives many perks and benefits, including house rent allowance, dearness allowance, pension, medical insurance and post-retirement benefits.
- Lower learning curve: This profession does not involve a candidate to use tools and technologies. As a result, a forest ranger’s job has a lower learning curve.
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Skills of a forest ranger
Here are a few skills to practise for a bright career as a forest ranger:
- Physical fitness: Regardless of the weather and environment outside, a forest ranger works outdoors in every weather condition. As this job requires a lot of physical stamina, employers prefer agile and physically fit candidates who are less prone to animal allergies.
- Fire prevention: A forest ranger is responsible for preventing forest fire. The ability to suppress fires and understand various fire fighting and fire prevention equipment is desirable for this role.
- Communication: Effective communication is essential for a forest ranger’s job. They may communicate with visitors, hunters and other forest authorities to discuss the best ways to protect the forest and its surroundings.
- Firearm knowledge: Forest rangers are familiar with the maintenance and handling of various firearms. Knowledge of using firearms can help these professionals protect themselves from attacks by wild animals.
- Camping and survival knowledge and skills: Often, these professionals work in remote locations without access to a proper shelter. The ability to start a safe fire, evade dangerous animals and build a temporary shelter can help forest rangers protect themselves.
- Critical thinking: Often, a forest ranger makes important decisions quickly. Developing critical thinking skills can help them collect the information they require for making an intelligent decision.
- Public speaking: It is essential to have excellent public speaking skills because they lead public education programmes regarding forest conservation.
- Courage: These professionals may face challenging situations requiring them to display their courage. The ability to prevent fires, work with chemical pesticides and handle hazardous situations like a fire is desirable for this role.
- Endurance: Forest ranger works happen outside in different weather and working in conditions like cold, heat and precipitation is part of a ranger’s daily responsibility. These professionals stand or patrol for long periods to ensure the safety of the forest and this requires the ability to endure unpleasant situations without giving up.
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How to become a forest ranger
Here are five steps to become a forest ranger in India:
1. Complete your bachelor’s degree
To become a forest ranger, you require a bachelor’s degree in any discipline to appear for the Union Service Public Commission (UPSC) exam. Though you can pursue any bachelor’s degree, studying one of the following subjects can be beneficial:
- botany
- chemistry
- zoology
- physics
- statistics
- veterinary science
- statistics
- animal husbandry
Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in forestry or agriculture are eligible to sit for the examination. Even candidates with an engineering degree in any disciple can become forest rangers.
2. Meet the minimum eligibility requirement
To become a forest ranger, it is essential to meet the minimum eligibility criteria set by the UPSC and Government of India (GOI). The minimum eligibility requirements are:
- Age limit: Candidates between 21–32 years can appear for the examination in the general category.
- Citizenship: Only Indian nationals are eligible to join the Indian Forest Service.
- Number of attempts: Every candidate is eligible to appear for the exam six times, provided that they meet all other eligibility requirements.
3. Pass the Indian Forest Service examination
The Indian Forest Service examination has two successive stages:
Preliminary examination
The preliminary examination is an objective test UPSC uses to screen and select candidates for the Main examination. This preliminary exam consists of two objective type papers, general studies (GS) and civil service aptitude test (CSAT). The GS paper is a qualifying paper and candidates require a minimum of 33% to become eligible for the Main examination. This paper consists of questions related to current events, Indian history, economic and social development, general science, Indian and world geography and other general knowledge topics.
The CSAT paper checks the mental ability, logical reasoning, comprehension, decision-making skills and analytical thinking of a candidate.
Main examination
This is a written examination consisting of six papers, namely general English and general knowledge. The remaining four papers evaluate a candidate’s knowledge on subjects they choose from a list approved by the Indian Forest Service. A candidate appears for two papers of each subject they choose. The Main examinations evaluate the candidate’s knowledge in an area of their interest.
Interview
Candidates who score higher than the cutoff marks in the Main examination are eligible to appear for the interview stage. A board interviews and assesses the candidate on a variety of skills and abilities. This can include communication skills, general awareness, observation power, leadership capacity or other related areas.
4. Complete the compulsory training
Based on the score of the Main and interview, candidates receive acceptance from the Forest Service. Qualifying candidates undergo special training that can help develop domain knowledge and make the candidate capable of dealing with challenges in their field. The Indian Forest Service training takes place in four phases:
- Foundation course: Their training starts at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. The duration of this training is 15 weeks.
- Professional phase I: Upon completing their foundation course, candidates train at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy at Dehradun. This training makes a candidate adept at soil conservation, forest management, handling scheduled tribes and wildlife management.
- Professional phase II: After completing the phase I training, candidates receive a master’s degree in forestry from the Forest Research Institute.
- Convocation phase: After completing training at the academy, these candidates undergo one year of on-the-job field training in a state they are likely to work.
After a few promotions, you can start working as a forest ranger.
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Work environment of a forest ranger
Usually, a forest ranger work in remote areas of the forest and these professionals may have a central base or office in the middle of the forest. Because of this reason, most of the time, these professionals work alone. They may work for 40-hours a week depending on their workload. Often, a forest rangers may work overtime when they face complex situations like fire.
