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Park Naturalists
Plan, develop, and conduct programs to inform public of historical, natural, and scientific features of national, state, or local park.
Also Known As:
Environmental Education Specialist
Environmental Educator
Interpretive Naturalist
Natural Resource Educator
Naturalist
Park Activities Coordinator
Park Guide
Park Interpretive Specialist
Park Naturalist
Park Ranger
Wages
Annual wages for Park Naturalists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
27,400
6% Change From 2023
Explore Park Naturalists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Perform emergency duties to protect human life, government property, and natural features of park.
- Perform emergency duties to protect human life, government property, and natural features of park.
- Prepare and present illustrated lectures and interpretive talks about park features.
- Interview specialists in desired fields to obtain and develop data for park information programs.
- Provide care for park program animals.
- Plan, organize and direct activities of seasonal staff members.
- Perform emergency duties to protect human life, government property, and natural features of park.
- Train staff on park programs.
- Plan and develop audio-visual devices for public programs.
- Assist with operations of general facilities, such as visitor centers.
- Provide visitor services, such as explaining regulations, answering visitor requests, needs and complaints, and providing information about the park and surrounding areas.
- Plan and develop audio-visual devices for public programs.
- Prepare brochures and write newspaper articles.
- Conduct field trips to point out scientific, historic, and natural features of parks, forests, historic sites, or other attractions.
- Confer with park staff to determine subjects and schedules for park programs.
- Prepare brochures and write newspaper articles.
- Perform routine maintenance on park structures.
- Construct historical, scientific, and nature visitor-center displays.
- Take photographs and motion pictures for use in lectures and publications and to develop displays.
- Research stories regarding the area's natural history or environment.
- Perform routine maintenance on park structures.
- Survey park to determine forest conditions and distribution and abundance of fauna and flora.
- Provide care for park program animals.
- Develop environmental educational programs and curricula for schools.
- Plan, organize and direct activities of seasonal staff members.
- Plan, organize and direct activities of seasonal staff members.
- Confer with park staff to determine subjects and schedules for park programs.
- Plan and organize public events at the park.
- Train staff on park programs.
- Construct historical, scientific, and nature visitor-center displays.
- Construct historical, scientific, and nature visitor-center displays.
- Compile and maintain official park photographic and information files.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")