Park Rangers

ANZSCO ID 234314

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
2,500
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
81%
Female Share
25%
Average age
42

Summary

Park Rangers assist in controlling a State or national park, scenic area, historic site, nature reserve, recreation area or conservation reserve in accordance with authorised policies and priorities.

Specialisations: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land and Sea Ranger.

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Park Ranger. Although some workers have a university or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in land or park management or a similar field.

Tasks

  • Implements policies and organises activities in designated parks and other areas to conserve and protect natural and cultural heritage.

  • Participates in management planning by providing environmental information and making inventories of plants, animals and items of cultural and heritage significance.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Practical
  • Creative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Medium
  • Heavy

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Environmental Scientists, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 81% of people employed as Park Rangers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 15 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Arts and Recreation Services
55.0%
2
Public Administration and Safety
21.0%
3
Other Services
10.6%
4
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
5.0%
5
Other industries
5.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

13.0% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

17.7% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

31.8% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

3.1% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

13.1% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

3.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

15.3% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.0% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Park Rangers All Jobs Average
NSW 13.0 31.6
VIC 17.7 25.6
QLD 31.8 20.0
SA 3.1 7.0
WA 13.1 10.8
TAS 3.5 2.0
NT 15.3 1.0
ACT 2.0 1.9


  • Around 83% of Park Rangers live outside of capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 38%.

    The Northern Territory and Queensland have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
42
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
25%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Park Rangers is 42 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 35 to 44 years.

    Females make up 25% of the workforce. This is 23 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Park Rangers All Jobs Average
15-19 1.6 5.0
20-24 6.3 9.3
25-34 20.8 22.9
35-44 28.6 22.0
45-54 24.1 21.6
55-59 10.5 9.0
60-64 5.4 6.0
65 and Over 2.6 4.2
Median Age 42 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications are not essential to work as a Park Ranger. Although some workers have a university or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in land or park management or a similar field.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation & Land Management and Sustainability VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Park Rangers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 6.0 10.1
Bachelor degree 28.2 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 17.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 21.4 21.1
Year 12 9.2 18.1
Year 11 4.3 4.8
Year 10 and below 13.7 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Environmental Scientists who can communicate clearly, work well in a team and have strong interpersonal skills.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 55%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 55%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 55%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 55%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 55%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 48%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 48%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 46%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 46%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 45%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 45%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 45%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 45%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 45%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 43%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 41%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 41%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 39%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 36%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 34%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 79%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 79%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 73%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 68%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 63%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 55%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 54%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 54%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 50%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 48%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 46%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 45%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 45%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 44%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 43%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 43%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 41%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 33%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 27%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 23%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 63%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 59%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 55%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 54%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 48%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 48%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 46%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 46%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 45%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 45%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 43%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

  • 43%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 41%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 39%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 37%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 74%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 73%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 72%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 71%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 71%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 67%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 67%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 66%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 66%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 66%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 65%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 61%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 57%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 55%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 54%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 48%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 48%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 42%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 42%

    Providing office support

    Doing day-to-day office work such as filing and processing paperwork.

  • 37%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 67%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 62%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 52%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 52%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 24%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 71%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 64%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 62%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 57%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 57%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 43%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 99%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 95%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 95%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 92%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 92%

    Outdoors, exposed to weather

    Work outdoors, exposed to the weather.

  • 89%

    Public speaking

    Talk to a group of people.

  • 89%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 87%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 87%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 87%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 86%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 85%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 85%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 78%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 77%

    Outdoors, under cover

    Work outdoors, under cover (e.g., in an open shed).

  • 76%

    Very hot or cold temperatures

    Work in very hot or cold temperatures.

  • 75%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 74%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 72%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 72%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 19-1031.03 - Park Naturalists.


Links and downloads

Back to top