'How Do You Get A Permanent Job With The NPS?'
This is a frequently asked question, neighbors! If the National Parks are 'America's Best Idea,' then it logically follows that the agency that services the National Parks, that is, The National Park Service, is the best damn bureaucracy in the world, and (therefore) NPS rangers, including myself, are the best damn bureaucrats in the world. (There is a flaw in logic in there somewhere, but you get the drift.)
Everyone enjoys basking in the reflected glory of an elite organization; this is one of the many reasons for the popularity of both the National Park Service and the U.S. Marine Corps. (Admittedly, the Marine Corps is easier to get into.)
Another reason for NPS employment popularity is Positive Feedback: People actually like you and like what you're doing. Many of the federal agencies are regulatory, which means you have an established Enemies List, people that hate you automatically, even before you arrive at work at eight in the morning. Not so in the case of the NPS (except for Tea Party fanatics!)
Consider the Internal Revenue Service. Have you ever wondered why the IRS does not have a 'Junior IRS Agent' program similar to the Park Service's Junior Ranger Program, in which aspiring juvenile IRS agents could conduct mock audits of the neighbors? No? I thought not. The same is true of the CIA.
A third reason for NPS job popularity is the physical setting.'Vignettes of Primeval America, at the point of European contact: Towering trees! Thundering waterfalls! Limitless vistas!"
No doubt about it, friends, the NPS is a feel-good agency that many people would like to join, and they are not easily dissuaded.
Recall the last cocktail party you attended. After the host has introduced you as a retired or active member of the NPS, you will be asked two questions: (A) 'What is your favorite bear story? (Pretty difficult if you were at Statue of Liberty), and (B) "How can my (son, daughter, grandchild) get a job with the NPS?'
Now the answer to question B is complicated, ambiguous and fluid.
You might like to hedge, particularly if you are feeling a tad malicious.
'Do you want your child to be happy?' you might solemnly inquire.
The answer will, of course, be 'Yes! Yes!' (America being the first country to be founded on the 'Pursuit of Happiness" as a goal.)
'Then,' you reply, 'Your child should get a job as a Federal Prison Guard.'
Your questioner will be appalled.
No, you have not taken leave of your senses due to Sequestration Frustration; you are merely alluding to a famous yearly study by The Partnership for Public Service in which they ranked the various federal agencies as 'The Best Places to Work.'
Now the NPS has never done particularly well in this survey, landing somewhere in the low middle. One notable year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was found to be a happier place to work than the NPS.Why is this the case?
Actually, it is an unfair comparison. You see, there is a difference in expectations.
A person who applies for a job as a prison guard has rather low expectation of approval by the clientele he serves. Most federal prisons are located in rural, low rent areas with few permanent jobs. Our prison guard candidate will be looking for a favorable retirement and medical package rather than Spiritual Fulfillment. In addition, he/she will be pleasantly surprised that they were not murdered the first day on the job. Every day after that is an improvement.
The NPS seasonal acolyte, on the other hand, has high expectations. If only he/she can enter the Nirvana of permanent employment in 'The best job in the world,' our Newbie expects 30 years of blissful contentment. What they fail to realize is that the National Parks are not administered by 'towering trees or thundering waterfalls,' or even by a John Muir clone, but by rather fallible and ordinary human beings. There will be difficulties and frustrations.
When approached by young men or women desiring a career in the National Park Service, Roger Siglin, former Chief Ranger of Yellowstone and Superintendent of Gates of Arctic National Park, would ask, 'What is your second choice for a lifetime career?' They rarely had one. One should have a back-up plan, unless one is wearing a suicide vest.
'Yes, I know that!' our acolyte exclaims irritably. 'I understand that the NPS has some serious personnel management problems, but I am different! Once I become permanent, I will reform the organization from top to bottom (WASO is clearly shaking in its boots!), BUT FIRST I NEED TO GET A PERMANENT JOB WITH THE NPS!'
Thereupon hangs many a frustration, neighbors! There are many rumors abounding that 'One must know someone' before the Holy Grail of a permanent position can be grasped, or that certain jobs are 'wired' for certain individuals or certain minority groups.
'Outsiders,' those brave, noble souls who are not part of the 'Conspiracy,' are condemned to wander forevermore in the Twilight Zone of seasonal employment or working for free as a volunteer. Since the NPS is one of the more gossipy agencies of the Federal Government, rumors abound. Some of them are true.
It is true there is malfeasance and corruption in the obtaining of government jobs, but less so than in the rip-roaring, wide-open period after the Civil War known as the Gilded Age, when everything seemed for sale, even if seller didn't own it. Federal jobs were just some of the merchandise available. People worked for political parties and voted for candidates not because they were interested in Good Government and Progress, but because they wanted the postmaster's job in their town or the lighthouse tender's job, or wanted to be the lucky chap that handed out land to railroads.
This was called Patronage, and constituted a venality tax on just about everyone as the wheels of government ground slower and slower. The various presidents of the Gilded Age may not have been personally corrupt, but many of their appointees certainly were, and the country was shot through with graft from top to bottom.
How were we to get out of the Civil Service corruption trap that even today bedevils most of the poverty stricken countries of the Third World?
'If in doubt, ask a ranger!" So, I asked Ranger Todd Arrington of James Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio to clear things up for us. You see, in addition to being in charge of the tallest tree and tallest mountain in America, the National Park Service is in charge of American history. If you are interested in the history of the light bulb, you contact Thomas Edison National Historic Site; if you are interested in Civil Service corruption, you contact James Garfield National Historic Site. It seems that President Garfield died for our sins.
Here is what Ranger Todd had to say:
''¦Civil Service Reform was something that was awaiting James A. Garfield when he became President in 1881. Garfield was inclined to agree that some reform to the civil service system was necessary to get rid of patronage and replace it with a merit-based system in which only qualified candidates who passed exams could receive appointments to federal positions. However, Garfield became much more adamant about this need after his election to the presidency, when he was almost immediately bombarded by letters and visits from people seeking jobs. Very few of these individuals had any real qualifications for the positions they sought and to which they felt entitled simply because they were Republicans or knew someone who knew a Congressman, etc.
President James Garfield supported major changes in hiring practices for federal jobs in the 1880s. Library of Congress photo.
This continued after Garfield's inauguration when he unhappily spent hours each day receiving job seekers. One of those who tried to convince Garfield to appoint him to a position (American Consul to Paris) was Charles J. Guiteau, a mentally unbalanced stalwart Republican who had given a meandering, unimportant speech promoting Garfield in New York and wanted to be rewarded for it.
Guiteau didn't get the job, and he soon grew concerned about Garfield's intention to replace the patronage system with a merit system, as the new president engaged in a very public battle with New York's Senator Roscoe Conkling over who would be appointed to the most prestigious and lucrative patronage job in the country: Collector of the Port of New York.
Charles Guiteau eventually decided the best way to handle this was to murder President Garfield so that Vice President Chester A. Arthur, a New Yorker and Conkling acolyte, would be elevated to the presidency.
Guiteau shot Garfield on July 2, 1881; the wounded President lingered until September 19.Vice President Arthur then became the new president and, to his credit, immediately distanced himself from Conkling. It was President Arthur who signed the Pendleton Act on January 16, 1883. That law reformed the Civil Service, as Garfield had desired, by instituting exams and qualification requirements for those seeking federal jobs. This was the beginning of the end for the patronage system.'
Thank you, Dr. Arrington. You will note that Todd said that it was the beginning of the end, not the end of patronage.
Do we still have Patronage? Sure do, neighbors! Even in the National Park Service? Yup! These are called Schedule C jobs and are awarded to deserving, helpful people by the political party that won the last election. This is sort of a sanitized, 'Living History' patronage relic of the Gilded Age, as the Schedule C jobs are relatively few in number and mainly deal with policy. (Nothing secret, neighbors! The Schedule C jobs are listed in a handy little book produced by the US Government Printing Office. It is called 'The Plum Book' because, among other things, it has a purple plum colored cover. (Who says the Federal government has no sense of humor?)
But what of our original question: lacking patronage, how DO you get a permanent job with the National Park Service?
Again, James Garfield National Historical Site was most helpful. According to Ranger Arrington:
'Jobs with the federal government, both permanent and temporary, as well as paid internships, are advertised on USA JOBS. You may search by the type of job you are interested in and the agency. National Park Service jobs are found under the Department of Interior. Be sure to read the announcement very carefully to determine what documents you will need to submit. On-line submittal of your application is preferred.'
Now is there any other way? (Aside from that of Charles Guiteau).
Well, yes, neighbors, at least for the protection ranger (law enforcement) there is something known as the Pro Ranger Program.
You see, the NPS, along with the rest of the Department of Interior, has a 'Diversity' problem. That is, the Department of Interior is the 'Whitest' of all the Federal Departments. (It is also regarded by some as the most corrupt, but any cause-and-effect correlation could be interpreted as racist.)
Anyway, how to solve the Diversity problem? Rather than trying to recruit graduates, it was decided to seek colleges with large minority populations and set up a program to steer undergraduates to a guaranteed career in NPS law enforcement.
Undoubtedly, there will be (or are) more colleges, but the ones that show up on Google are Temple University in Philadelphia and the very enterprising San Antonio College, a two-year community college in San Antonio, Texas.
According to the Temple blurb: 'Upon graduation from Temple University and successfully completing the Pro Ranger Philadelphia Program, participants are placed in a permanent career tenured law enforcement park ranger position with the National Park Service.'
San Antonio College says, 'Rather than recruit or find the next generation of NPS law enforcement rangers, the Pro Ranger Program is a proactive approach to creating them.'
So, neighbors, I guess where your child goes depends on whether he likes Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches or Mexican food!
Comments
willj, Owen, others, very interesting posts. I am in agreement that the seasonal employee is getting the short end of the stick. Unfortunately, in my own humble opinion, it goes beyond the NPS, it is among many hotly contested political issues, "trickle down economics", distrust of the government, economic trade policies, outsourcing, record corporate profits and management pay while employee wages stalled, benefits eliminated, well the list of debatable issues is quite lengthly. In all this, the lower tier of employees and wage earners are not doing to well. It actually began in the 1980s, but in any case, I am very supportive of your comments. Again, you may need to go to a citizen activist group like PEER to get some results. Please excuse all my posts on this issue, but willj, perpetual seasonal, I believe many of your issues are valid and well stated.
On the 7th day, God rested, but in my 8th year as a Seasonal/WAE, after three years spent just tryiing to get on seasonal, I went to BLM for a permanent position. Corps of Engineers and others, also offer opportunities. BTW, many of the post-getting hired promotions and job opporltunies in those agencies, like Forest Service as well, also go to "who you know", whether nepotism or otherwise. It's the way private industry works too, so don't panic or complain so much.
Something PJ didn't mention, and I haven't noted yet is that the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 also authorized conversion of up to 25% of Schedule C's to be converted to PERMANENT Civil Service. This crammed the top levels, not the entry levels, with a good many incompetents as "leaders", and they couldn't be booted, or gone with an admiinistration as before.
I also lost over 13 jobs and "promotions" to "Affirmative Action" over the years, despite my 5 point vet status (and yes, that did put me over 100 on the FSEE) but that can also get into a can of worms. Which, my son is now a disabled retired "10 point" veteran, but because of his disbilities, rangering isn't in his future, but he's noted that several government jobs, including BLM and one NPS are open to him in other areas. I support vets (I'm also now permanent and total, some things "catch up with you"), but I do get discouraged when vets who served in the states, or non-combat areas, now get signed up for PTSD payments, when they only want money, NOT treatement for whatever condition. That carries over into the job market as well, even vets SHOULD have some qualifications to do the jobs they're applying for, so giving credit for service, but being truly fair to all, remains a problematic situation.
But, the road into NPS may be a route people didn't plan on, and like my experience, may end up with a satisfying career that wasn't exactly what you planned on as a seasonal, in another agency, doing much the same work, but maybe without as much "prestige"?
I really don't know what the best way to go about it is. PEER seems very good at bringing hidden things to light, but most of the what we're talking about here is right out in the open, it is just that nobody with the power to do anything cares. It is a difficult subject to explain to the public. Government personnel rules are esoteric, to say the least, and it is hard to get past the perception that every federal employee has fat, unsustainable benefits. The NFFE is at least lobbying Congress on behalf of FS seasonals, but without management on board I can't see anything happening. The NPS is mostly non unionized, and any attempt to change that would have to come from the permanent employees. Seasonals and terms would be dropped in a heartbeat if it was suspected they were trying to bring in a union. There really is nobody who speaks for the seasonals. Permanents have the MSPB, veterans have various powerful organizations, minorities have senior management, we don't have anyone. Maybe some kind of independent board to investigate abuses at all the land management agencies would help, maybe it would just be co-opted
The way I see it there are two separate but related issues: Using seasonals for what should be permanent work, and how people are selected for what permanent jobs are being filled. I think that the second will be much easier to fix if it is separated from the first, and fixing it would take some of the sting out of the first.
With the first issue, as perpetual seasonal points out, the NPS is blatantly violating the spirit and letter of the law at just about every turn. Every year they go through more extreme contortions to avoid paying for benefits, and to avoid committing to the individuals who they have doing the work. One scam is closed off and another opens up. I think it is obvious to everyone that what is going on is illegal, but I don't see how it will change. There is just no way to afford to follow the law without either a major reduction in services, or a dramatic refocusing of the NPS toward the parks themselves. I don't think a change in focus could be accomplished without completely new national leadership and some kind of targeted RIF. The public won't stand for the first option, and the bureaucracy won't stand for the second.
The second issue I think is slightly more fixable. Status for seasonals could be had with congressional action at no cost. Failing that, managers need to remember that they are breaking the law, and that they and the agency are benefiting from that. The person who is losing is the seasonal doing a permanent's job. Management should realize that if they were following the law, that person would have status, and when permanent jobs do come open, particularly when it is the exact job that seasonal has been doing, they need to do whatever it takes to hire that person. There is always a way to hire who you want. All non competitive hiring can be said to be cronyism. There is just ethical cronyism, where you are working the system to hire someone who you know will be good at the job and who has earned it, and unethical cronyism, where you are working the system to hire a family friend, a woman you want to sleep with, or a member of whatever class of people is currently fashionable with your bosses. Unfortunately the unethical cronyism is too common in the NPS these days. I think that if word came down from WASO that managers would get just as many pats on the head for hiring existing seasonals into permanent jobs as they do for hiring minorities, things would change pretty rapidly.
I agree that efforts should be made to promote diversity, but really, those efforts should be focused on encouraging minorities to apply to entry level positions, rather than working around the merit system in order to hire them into permanent jobs. If the barrier between seasonal and permanent employment were removed, minorities could apply for entry level jobs and work their way up. It would take a little longer, but it would be more thorough and productive. We would end up with better employees than those who were just installed into higher positions, and we wouldn't have the bitterness that the current efforts are causing.
I guess that's the last of my two cents.
willj, I love reading your posts. It is so gratifying to see others who get it. I support H.R. 533 the bill that would allow for long time seasonal employees of land management agencies to be appointed non-competitively to permanent positions but I don't think that bill would be a cure all.
You will still have the problem of positions being kept temporary even though it is just two people splitting the same work, and as is becoming more common, you'll have them using what they call "internships" so they can avoid the cost of benefits. The bill would do nothing to correct the problem of the leadership gaming the system to hire people for reasons that have nothing to do with their abilities. The agency has proven itself incapable of following the laws against misusing temporary appointments. So I think the final solution may be to cut out all the game playing and make it the law that ALL federal employees be covered by the same benefits package no matter their status be it term, temporary or whatever. Turnover, low morale, lack of experience and the hassle of the musical chairs approach to staffing has a cost as well that this action would save.
Or, the less preferable option, but still better than the status quo, would be to cut benefits all together from some employees. I know I would have gladly gone without insurance in exchange for steady work doing the job I love. (and that I've been told I'm damm good at by people some of you know)
Either the actions of the agency will be brought into line with the law or the law will be brought into line with their actions. The two can't keep going in different directions. The situation as it is, is not sustainable. Either congress will act; lawsuits will compel the NPS to reform itself, or a growing public awareness through media exposure will embarrass those with power into doing the right thing.
BTW, Rick Smith, I'm still waiting to hear about how you'd have liked to have seen your first permanent job go to someone fresh out of school after your 11 seasons?
It did although not to a first year student but to someone who had spent little time in the Service. I was taking my final exams for my MA and could not make Albright on the date they specified.
Rick
I guess I'm not done.
Dtroutma: “It's the way private industry works too, so don't panic or complain so much.” I've worked a lot of winters in the private sector, and yes, there is personal favoritism and nepotism. There are a couple important differences between the public and private sectors though. 1st, if a private business wants to hire a less effective worker for any reason, they absolutely have that right. An NPS manager, on the other hand, is an employee of the American people, and has a responsibility to hire the best person for the job. 2nd, if a private business consistently uses factors other than employee quality to decide who to hire or promote, productivity will suffer, they will lose money, and eventually they will fold. The individual NPS manager has no such incentive to hire good people. The taxpayers will continue to fund them no matter how badly they fail. There does not seem to be any meaningful accountability for management, and even if there were, a good bureaucrat can easily diffuse responsibility for his failures to the point where nobody is blamed for them. I do think that if the NPS continues down the path it is on, it will eventually lose credibility with the public and its constant crying for more money will not be taken seriously anymore.
Perpetual seasonal: I don't think that the land management agencies will ever be able to give everyone the benefits package they currently give to their permanent employees. It is just too expensive. The work we do is labor intensive, not easily done by machines, and labor costs have to be kept down. If we are to start theorizing about a better way to do things, I think a system would work well where everyone is eligible for benefits, with new employees, permanent or seasonal, paying most of the cost out of pocket, and the NPS picking up a larger percentage with years of service. That would at least reduce the extreme cost gradient between seasonal and permanent employees. This is an interesting article on the subject: http://www.economist.com/node/21548234. It is talking specifically about European labor law, but explains how when there are two classes of employees with such sharply different benefits, the short term incentive is to do whatever it takes to keep people in the cheaper class even if it does more damage in the long term. The federal government, which doesn't have the day to day revenue and expense pressures of private business, should be able to think about the long term
I also think that it needs to be easier to fire permanent employees. For all the talking I've done about the importance of retaining good employees, I think that even more cost and productivity savings could be had by firing the bad ones. They not only don't do their own jobs, they actively undermine their coworkers and cause an incredible amount of strife and dysfunction. It is easier to commit to a good employee if you know you can get rid of them later if they turn bad. My reservations come from the fact that the more discretion you give managers, the more important it is to have good ones. The ones I know now would probably use any expedited firing authority to remove their better employees, who they regard as troublemakers, and replace them with yes men.
So ultimately the most important thing is to raise the quality of management. Current NPS culture doesn't select for independence, guts, and integrity. It selects for keeping your head down, kissing ass, prioritizing perception over reality, and not worrying too much about whether things get done. It is sad, and I don't really know what to do about it.
Well willj, I think your post is a little pessimistic, but the issue of the seasonal employee is important. I am no expert, but I encourage you to read "Intern Nation". Many of the issues you raise are well documented in other agencies and in the private sector. I do not know if PEER would take on an issue like this, ie a class action suit, but I think if you have a constructive approach in contacting them, you might get some very good information. It is disconcerting to think that we are at a point where the lower graded employees, part time, seasonal, intern, are being made to pay the price of our current economic malaise, particularly when corporate profits, the stock market, high end management pay and bonus rewards are at all time record highs. It is happening more and more in all entry or lower graded positions, ie, minimum wage, limited hours, limited or no benefits, etc. I was in my excellent local supermarket the other day, I usually go there as I thought they had a good pay plan and benefits for their employees, even though their prices are higher than their competitors. I was informed that every employee in the store is part time, except designated management personnel. This should not be the case, I encourage you and the other less than full time employees to get expert advice, PEER might be a good place to start. Thanks to both you and perpetual seasonal for openly discussing this important issue.
If you think being faced with "hostile locals" as an NPS employee, try being with BLM as a Wilderness Specialist, Environmental Coordinator (enforcing resrictions), and otherwise "reining in" abuse by those users. I live where I do because the town is "conservative", but the vast majority of folks are friendly, and accept that the Public Lands are what provide the jobs, and pay the bills. I've had numerous "incidents" with less friendly locals, and in other towns around the west, where the welfare ranchers (think Sagebrush Rebellion) will attack you at the drop of a hat. This has included on the extreme end, which end I would insert a rancher's rifle in if he didn't put it away.
I tire of hearing how "private sector" has to be more discretionary because they have to make a profit. This is extremely so when discussing "private sector" corporations that almost exclusively depend on government largesse, or contracts. My brother always cussed "the government", earned 7-10 times as much as I did, and never worked anything but a government contract in his entire career in aerospace and "defense". He also routinely complained what jerks he worked for, and when administering contracts himself, complained if the subcontractor was paying their folks what he considered should be HIS BONUS! Getting into folks like "Mickey D's", or Walmart, is even more egregious. I shop Costco not just for the prices, but because they DO take care of their employees, and thus THAT is what makes their employees perform better!
Sorry, neuropathy, done typing, and enough for now, but could go to other areas relative to the article as well...