5 ms·

These all appear to be full-time unpaid work? Like the expectations are incredibly joblike and the pay is free housing and a visitor's pass to all national par

by saulpw 3y ago

These all appear to be full-time unpaid work? Like the expectations are incredibly joblike and the pay is free housing and a visitor's pass to all national parks.

toomuchtodo 3y ago
They are volunteer opportunities, typically sought by folks who don't need an income (retirees, students, etc). If you're looking for paid work, there are alternatives: https://www.usajobs.gov/ https://www.usajobs.gov/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps/
- boomboomsubban 3y ago
  I wasn't expecting paid work, but I also wasn't expecting "come live in this cabin for several months while you work full time in a visitors bureau." The map data entry opportunity that seems to be available in every state was closer to what I expected, some projects people could spend a few hours a week on in their hometown.
  - arrakeenrevived 3y ago
    You can filter the opportunities to only show "Event" types (as opposed to "Position" types) which are things like one-off volunteer events like this one: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000zUAwAAM/dropin-volunteering-trash-trekkers https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d00000... But in general, I agree with you. From what I can tell, even though this is just broadly called "volunteer.gov", it really seems like it's specific to the Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service, and is missing a large amount of types of positions that I think most people would expect when they think "go volunteer".
    - anjel 3y ago
      Old enough to recall a time when parks and museums were free of admission costs as was the parking? Congress in all its wisdom slashed those budgets but good over the last 4 decades and these job postings are symptomatic of these Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service fiscal funding revisions as well.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    A family member works one of these jobs, so it’s probably my bias that this is reasonable. They love it and live off a military pension, getting to live in the wilderness (a national park near the Canadian border) and provide service to others who want to experience it.
    - boomboomsubban 3y ago
      There's really only two kinds of people I can see going for these. Those like your family member, with a steady revenue source and a desire to spend 40+ hours a week in a park anyway, and those hoping to leverage this into a paying gig. This isn't a bad thing, just isn't what I expected when I saw this post.
codemac 3y ago
There is some crazy stuff in these volunteer positions: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000zyi7AAA/visitor-center-volunteer https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d00000... Volunteers are expected to contribute a minimum of three 8-hour shifts per week (8:45AM-5:15PM) with a half hour lunch for a period of three to four months. Weekend availability is required. Consecutive days off are offered, except in unusual circumstances. Days off are offered? lol
- hanniabu 3y ago
  > Consecutive days off "Consecutive days off" is much different than "days off"
- slimsag 3y ago
  Might not be all that crazy; people are often sentenced by courts to perform community service - perhaps related? There's also apparently a volunteer -> actual employment process for national park service.

by saulpw 3y ago

These all appear to be full-time unpaid work? Like the expectations are incredibly joblike and the pay is free housing and a visitor's pass to all national parks.

toomuchtodo 3y ago

They are volunteer opportunities, typically sought by folks who don't need an income (retirees, students, etc). If you're looking for paid work, there are alternatives: https://www.usajobs.gov/ https://www.usajobs.gov/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps/

boomboomsubban 3y ago
I wasn't expecting paid work, but I also wasn't expecting "come live in this cabin for several months while you work full time in a visitors bureau." The map data entry opportunity that seems to be available in every state was closer to what I expected, some projects people could spend a few hours a week on in their hometown.
- arrakeenrevived 3y ago
  You can filter the opportunities to only show "Event" types (as opposed to "Position" types) which are things like one-off volunteer events like this one: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000zUAwAAM/dropin-volunteering-trash-trekkers https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d00000... But in general, I agree with you. From what I can tell, even though this is just broadly called "volunteer.gov", it really seems like it's specific to the Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service, and is missing a large amount of types of positions that I think most people would expect when they think "go volunteer".
  - anjel 3y ago
    Old enough to recall a time when parks and museums were free of admission costs as was the parking? Congress in all its wisdom slashed those budgets but good over the last 4 decades and these job postings are symptomatic of these Bureau of Land Management/National Park Service fiscal funding revisions as well.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  A family member works one of these jobs, so it’s probably my bias that this is reasonable. They love it and live off a military pension, getting to live in the wilderness (a national park near the Canadian border) and provide service to others who want to experience it.
  - boomboomsubban 3y ago
    There's really only two kinds of people I can see going for these. Those like your family member, with a steady revenue source and a desire to spend 40+ hours a week in a park anyway, and those hoping to leverage this into a paying gig. This isn't a bad thing, just isn't what I expected when I saw this post.

codemac 3y ago

There is some crazy stuff in these volunteer positions: https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d000000zyi7AAA/visitor-center-volunteer https://www.volunteer.gov/s/volunteer-opportunity/a093d00000... Volunteers are expected to contribute a minimum of three 8-hour shifts per week (8:45AM-5:15PM) with a half hour lunch for a period of three to four months. Weekend availability is required. Consecutive days off are offered, except in unusual circumstances. Days off are offered? lol

hanniabu 3y ago
> Consecutive days off "Consecutive days off" is much different than "days off"
slimsag 3y ago
Might not be all that crazy; people are often sentenced by courts to perform community service - perhaps related? There's also apparently a volunteer -> actual employment process for national park service.