Park Ranger Job

As they say, "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!" That's the prob with Nat Parks these days and the reason why so many tracks are being closed off to us. They aren't funded sufficiently to look after it all so they just close it off. Anyone got any cheese to go with my whine? ;-)

Cheers
Scoey!

Actually Vince, there is no requirement to have any formal qualifications, though it is generally considered highly desirable when considering multiple applicants. The preferred requirements for a Ranger is considered a Diploma of Natural Resource Management or similiar, a 2 year course.

Andrew

It certainly is becoming the norm. I am currenty 6 moths into a FOUR YEAR uni course to become a primary school teacher so that I can earn the second least amount of money I have ever earned.

Of course it's not about the money, it's about doing somthing that I can be proud of when I get home from work and also having time t o spend with my family and the potential to live and work in the country areas (as we eventually want to move back to the country).

I have spent the majority of my working life earning pretty damn good money flooging crap to people who don't neccesserily want it or conversly who NEED it but are too tight assed or stupid to reliase it. Not a very fullfling career IMHO.

In our sociology unit last semster we looked at sociology maps of the Perth CBD by the ABS. It was very interesting to see that University qualifications do not match earnings at all. In fact according to the ABS in your first year of work you are more likley to earn more money if you just go an get a job than if you acue a huge debt and spent years of your life at university. The only way university qualifications offer you a REAL advantage now days monetary wise is if you want to clime the corporate ladder and earn the BIG bucks and or you want to enter a speciality field like a surgeon or somthing. But neither of those are going to happen in your first few years out of uni anyway, you'll have to work for many years as the laccy in order to work up to any kind of decent income.

Personally, with my kids I won't be filling their heads full of crap, if they want to go to uni GREAT, no problem, if they want to leave school and go work up at Newman for $38 per hour, then even better! It'll probally get them further in the long run, even if they end up sweeping floors at the age of 40 - who cares if they have a million dollar house and no debt! As long as they are happy with what they are doing!

I thought about the whole ranger thing when I was making the career change decision. At first you think "COOL, you get to 4wd all day in all those areas that are closed off to the public and tell off all the knob ends for tearing up the place, what a life!" Then you think more rationally.... Spending 40c+ days in a little booth on the weekend arguing with people as to why they can't bring alcohol into the reserve on a long weekend then driving down and hosing out the long drops all for penuts.... Hmmm.....
I'm sure there are good and bad parts to it like any job. I get the same critisisms of teaching. Getting paid penuts to deal with screaming kids all day! :-) I guess you have to bite the bullet, go and try it out for a while and see if it's somthing you really like. I've been in the classrooms 1 day a week for 6 months now and am pretty confident I can handle those bad parts of the job in lue of all the good and enjoyment that comes with it.

Geezz, don't I have anything better to do than type on here all day!! Shut up Jeff!

Jeff I wish you well in primary school teaching but;
neither of my kids followed mum and dad into uni or teaching...
my son now earns morein a week than I used to in a month...
my daughter has been overseas more times than I have been to the shop...
my wife still teaches...

I can't think of anything more worthwhile than teaching.

Its a vocation, not a job. In so many ways.
Yes the pays lousy but that's just the start.

Would I do it again or recommend it to a male ? Not in this day and age and for many reasons.

Yes I have looked into this long and hard before making the commitment, and yes there are a lot of downsides and let's just call them "potential risks" for males in the primary environment as well as the bureaucracy that goes with teaching.

That is probably why there was less than 30 males out of 300 people at the start of my course, and now into semester 2 I am the ONLY male in one tutorial and one of two males in two of my other tutorials.

But that was one of the reasons for doing it in the first place, the lack of males in the system... It is understandable why males don't want lousy pay and the risk of getting accused of doing things that you would never do and putting up with the bull bleep that I'm sure goes with it, however my wife earns good money so the pay is not an issue and I really feel strongly about getting more blokes into the schools. It's amazing the encouragement I am getting from the female teachers in the schools, they really want more guys in there. Not because we necessarily teach better, just that we teach differently.

It was just yesterday actually in my prac that a teacher said something to that effect to me. She was a relief teacher as our normal teacher was off sick. She said "it's fascinating watching males teachers, we don't get to see it very often any more, you teach in a different way to us, it's great to see it".

Good on ya Jeff. I'm a nurse in the country and one of the few blokes in the hospital. I get something out of it, more than i would working in a mine etc.

A bloke came in the other day after having a massive heart attack. He was dying right there on the bed but my quick interventions kept him alive until we could get emergency medications into him. You can't buy that sort of experience with any amount of money.

Blokes in the steelworks here are making $80 000 a year and as they put it "for pressing a button on a machine all day".

Barnesy

I'm afraid that the pay and BS isn't the reason why more males aren't there (although they are sadly needed).

I've known of young make teachers committing suicide over bogus complaints.

I've known early 30 y/o dep principals have heart attacks over the stress.

I've known an excellent male executive treacher that left to play guitarin a bar.

Being a target for a frustrated single mother who's having a bad day and wants you to have one too, or the subject of unmentionable complaints etc etc etc can gut you, believe me.

Sadly there are large numbers of sick people in a very sick society out there. They suspect every male of being a criminal...after all, no male enjoys working with kids unless he has an ulterior motive, right ?
You are painting a target on your back.
And guess how much back up you'll have ?
Denied natural justice.
Denied any knowledge of the complaintant.
And when its found to be BS, NO APOLOGY for having gone through hell.
You have to go back into the classroom and work your guts out knowing that someone is watching you verrry carefully...not easy.
After a few times it's no wonder that males start to re think their choice of profession.

And lets not even start talking about trying to educate kids for the 21st century in schools steeped in 19century organization and organizational culture.

In NSW, 1 in 6 secondary school male teachers either leaves or is thinking of leaving after 3 years of teaching. The figures are probably similar in primary schools these days. What a monumental waste of talent and taxpayers money.

Males make great teachers and with the lack of significant males in many kids lives, are needed more than ever in schools.

The job needs to be made more attractive to males if we are to not only attract but keep male teachers. There are many ways of doing it. No one solution.

More of the same old same old just doesn't cut it.

Now...are the tyres on my 80 series too big or too small I wonder ? :)))))))))

I hear you mate, and I like to think that I'm not blind to these problems, as it is my real only concern with this move, however I like to think that my experience dealing with DH's over the last 10 years may help a little bit, but maybe that's just wishful thinking! Another target!! God how many can I have on my back at one time!! ;-))) I drink, smoke, drive a 4wd and voice my political opinions widley... That's bad enough!! LOL. (Of course not in the classroom!!)

Oh well, we'll see how we go! I left my 70hour per week job because of stress, never knowing for sure if we were going to have enough work for the next month to pay all the empoyees, ned alone myself! Constantly juggling money and cashflow, contractors, problems and complaints. I don't know, I know there is deffinataly going to be stress, but I hope I can handle it. You just have to be SUPER careful I guess...

I know what you mean though, the female prac teachers walk around holding kids hands, giving them hugs etc etc. I feel weird if I touch a student in order to move them out of harms way! ie The gardener was comming through the veranda yesterday lunch time with sticks and branches poking out of a wheel barrow, so I grabbed one of the boys by the shoulders (just gently of course) and just guided him to the side so that he would'nt get hit. You feel like you've done somthing wrong! It's so bizzare.

But anyway, I reckon you're tyres are WAY too small! LOL

Well done Jeff. I admire people who can take on the risky jobs, as this one definitely is. The fact that you are going into it with your eyes wide open should help you to avoid some of the pitfalls that beset the naive and unwary.

I have no experience in that field but family members do and they often comment on how few males are involved in the face-to-face action and how hard it is for them. Most female teachers would definitely welcome more male colleagues for the reasons that have already been posted by others.

All the very best in your chosen career change.

I agree truckster, not to mention camped out all the time in the fresh air earning an extra $80 per night, shooting ferals, either getting around places that no one else gets to go in a current model Turbo Cruiser or a 4 wheeler.
bugger that, being a boily, stuck in a workshop all day or all night on shift in the mines for 12 hrs clock watching, for me its quality of life,
"Work to live, not live to work" thats just my opinion....

Sand Man ,

I like the bit " Delivery of park management and visitor services " . Is that emptying garbage bins etc ?

I guess we should be thankful people are keen on the jobs , because Nat. Parks are always scratching for money .

Willie

Most agents don't take a percentage of employees wages. For a placement the cost is borne by the client and in many cases is cheaper than advertising and interviewing etc yourself. If it's an hourly hire the agent is responsible for all on costs and Oh&S etc.

Even if you are only placed by the agent, they have a responsibilty to ensure a safe working environment etc and normally replace you free of charge if you leave witihin a certain time frame. This allows the Client to "do what they do"

lol, as opposed to the terrible office the bollermaker has to endure to earn the 150k but it appears that the parks dept is taking advantage of the situation to the extreme, 35k might be ok for a homo with no life but for a person with a family it's not far from the poverty line.

Unfortunately that's the way our "supply and demand" system works.

and tis only gonna get worse...

If there are lots of people wanting to get into this field, indeed many people wil gladly volunteer to help do Parks type work, then why would you have to pay any more that $35k-$40k per year?

Look at volunteer fire fighters (I am one). It is something that people like doing so why would the govt PAY people to do it. Yes it can be hard and dangerous but there is immense satisfaction in contributing to a public safety effort and saving lives and property.

Parks jobs would be similar. Sure there would be some crappy aspects to it but look at the workplace you are in! What could be better than cruising the parks on a nice day?

Don't expect to get rich from doing it because there would be 200 people who would do the job for less! That said - I am sure there would be a few penalties and overtime to help boost the final number.

Cheers
Muddy