How To Become A Forest Ranger: What It Is and Career Path

What is a forest ranger and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a forest ranger. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.92 an hour? That's $41,431 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 13,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreForest RangerUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,431

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.95%

Asian 1.93%

Black or African American 9.18%

Hispanic or Latino 13.78%

Unknown 4.79%

White 69.36%

Gender

female 20.00%

male 80.00%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

0.8

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a forest ranger

Explore forest ranger education requirements

Most common forest ranger degrees

Bachelor's

49.2 %

Associate

33.3 %

High School Diploma

11.1 %

Start to develop specific forest ranger skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	57.01%
Equipment Maintenance	8.98%
GPS	8.77%
Law Enforcement	5.74%
Rangers	4.47%

Complete relevant forest ranger training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New forest rangers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a forest ranger based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real forest ranger resumes.

Research forest ranger duties and responsibilities

Evaluate students on leadership, time management, organization and ability to accomplish missions.
Facilitate CFM processes around Sango-bay Eco-system aim at community participation in reduction of biodiversity losses.
Operate GPS unit marking tracts around fire unit.
Patrol assign areas for signs of fire, vandalism, trespass, safety hazards etc.

Prepare your forest ranger resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your forest ranger resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a forest ranger resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable forest ranger resume templates

Build a professional forest ranger resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your forest ranger resume.