Ranger Overview
Working as a Ranger
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a ranger. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.44 an hour? That's $34,201 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 37,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Ranger Do
There are certain skills that many rangers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed good judgment, leadership skills and physical strength.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a ranger, we found that a lot of resumes listed 20.1% of rangers included general public, while 15.1% of resumes included customer service, and 7.8% of resumes included law enforcement. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the ranger job title. But what industry to start with? Most rangers actually find jobs in the hospitality and retail industries.
How To Become a Ranger
If you're interested in becoming a ranger, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 51.2% of rangers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.0% of rangers have master's degrees. Even though most rangers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a ranger. When we researched the most common majors for a ranger, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on ranger resumes include associate degree degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a ranger. In fact, many ranger jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many rangers also have previous career experience in roles such as cashier or sales associate.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Ranger Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of security officer you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title service manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Ranger
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Dcnr Ranger-Seasonal (Presque Isle State Park) Dcnr Ranger-Seasonal (Presque Isle State Park) | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 01/20/2021 01/20/2021 | $41,32301/20/2021 $41,323 |
Student Conservation Association Wilderness Ranger Crew Wilderness Ranger Crew | Student Conservation Association Student Conservation Association | 01/13/2021 01/13/2021 | $57,39301/13/2021 $57,393 |
Brazos River Authority Lake Ranger Lake Ranger | Brazos River Authority Brazos River Authority | 11/26/2020 11/26/2020 | $41,73911/26/2020 $41,739 |
Student Conservation Association Interpretation Ranger Participant Interpretation Ranger Participant | Student Conservation Association Student Conservation Association | 11/13/2020 11/13/2020 | $78,26311/13/2020 $78,263 |
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Seasonal Dcnr Ranger (Tyler State Park) Seasonal Dcnr Ranger (Tyler State Park) | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 11/10/2020 11/10/2020 | $41,32311/10/2020 $41,323 |
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Ranger Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Ranger. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Ranger Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Ranger resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Rangers
1. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Public
2. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Public
3. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
4. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Public
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
6. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
7. SUNY at Albany
Albany, NY • Public
8. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Public
9. SUNY College at Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh, NY • Public
10. SUNY College at Oswego
Oswego, NY • Public
Top Skills For a Ranger
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.1% of rangers listed general public on their resume, but soft skills such as good judgment and leadership skills are important as well.
- General Public, 20.1%
- Customer Service, 15.1%
- Law Enforcement, 7.8%
- Natural Resources, 7.7%
- Hand Tools, 6.1%
- Other Skills, 43.2% See All Ranger Skills
Best States For a Ranger
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a ranger. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, California, Hawaii, and New York. Rangers make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $66,587. Whereas in California and Hawaii, they would average $46,685 and $45,350, respectively. While rangers would only make an average of $43,563 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$66,587
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$41,304
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$41,853
Avg. Salary