national park careers
Can National Park Rangers Get Married?
I know that Park Rangers live in the Park and move around from time to time to different parks, I’m wondering can they still get married?? Would getting married cause problems in the job?? Is it even possible to get married being a Ranger?? I’m talking about the permanent Park Rangers by the way. I’m considering this career field and just looking at all the ups and downs, but not sure about this one. What if I meet someone that is the ONE while being a Ranger??
Thanks
Yes, they can get married. And, yes, it can create issues with jobs. When one takes a job at a different park, they may be geographically separated for quite some time till another job in the same park can be found. Sometimes, when one spouse takes a promotion and moves, the other spouse may take a downgrade in order to move to the same park. I have also known some to take non-federal jobs or go unemployed in order to move at the same time. A lot depends on your values — are both of you career oriented and willing to take the time apart to grow your careers, or are you family oriented and willing to take sacrifices/compromises to stay together, or somewhere in between? If is possible to stay in one park for an entire career, I know one couple that has done so, but it is hard(er) to get promoted without getting a well-rounded knowledge of the parks, which means moving around a bit, especially early in your career.