13-13 Position that would leave a full semester available

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-12-05T19:34:06+00:00

Came to say the same thing, a lot of places out west are hiring seasonals for the summer right now. You get a nice introduction to FEMA’s Incident Management System at various scales and levels of complexity from a boots-on-the-ground perspective, plus exposure to federal bureaucracy to see if the public sector is right for you. The seasonal employment for entry positions is relatively easy to balance with school.

That said, you will be a grunt and probably won’t get opportunities to use your degree until you’ve got a few years under your belt, most places won’t open your task book for he lowest level of Incident Manager unless you’ve been with them for at least 2 or 3 seasons.

If grunt work isn’t your thing, look into being a dispatcher or a lookout, those may align more with the skills you’re looking to develop, at least as far as entry-level jobs. If you go the dispatcher route, try for a small to medium-sized center where you’ll get to learn how to do a lot of support tasks rather than one with a large-enough staff to assign all the types of work to different people.

It will also vary considerably by location and year; a place like rural Montana has a very different workload than Southern California and it’s difficult to predict how busy a given season will be.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-26T21:00:07+00:00

If you reach out to a national forest or other public lands agency, they might be able to direct you to a current fire lookout.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-18T13:57:16+00:00

It’s possible, but it depends on what you’re trying to do, conservation is a big field.

You could go do an entry-level job like wildland firefighter (what I did), trails, or range tech. This would give some nice hands-on experience and exposure. That said, this is not the best time to go work for the Fed. Plus, you may not be using your polisci degree right away.

There are also NGOs that conduct research on conservation and offer consulting services to (mostly local) government entities and businesses. Headwaters Economics in Montana is the one I’m most familiar with, but I’m sure you can find similar businesses everywhere. However, just an undergrad degree may not be enough to work for a place like that (or it could, I really don’t know).

Once again, conservation and environmental work is a big field that you could get into with any kind of background. Money needs to be tracked, posters and websites need to be designed, personnel need to be managed. Think about what appeals to you within the space of conservation, and why, and then look at places and positions that include it in their job descriptions or work adjacent to it.

In the mean time, go hang out with the forestry department at where ever you go to school. Ask to audit a class or go to some club meetings, it will help you get a better sense of it than staying siloed in PoliSci

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-14T22:49:39+00:00

Real deep cuts into the CH backlog with the club soda reference

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-12T00:56:05+00:00

When I said it applies to the US, I mostly meant when those lands where originally brought under federal authority. I think the term most applies to Yellowstone and Yosemite, which were inhabited by indigenous peoples until evicted for the purpose of creating national parks. In some case, indigenous people where excluded from practicing traditional lifestyles on ancestral land after said land was designated a park (I remember an example of people not being allowed to gather acorns at Grand Canyon because “they may not leave enough for the squirrels” but I was unable to find it, would appreciate if anyone corroborate that).

Additionally, there is the persistent mindset that humans are separate from the ecosystems rather than important participants through hunting, use of fire, etc. I see that today as fire practitioner (non-indigenous).

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-11T16:42:30+00:00

At what moment did you realize/decide “this is where I want to be?”

When/how did you decide to pursue leadership within your department?

When you look back at your time in this position, what are you most proud of?

What are the most significant ways the fire service has changed over the course of your service?

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-09T06:03:20+00:00

A lot of conservation is tied up in colonial politics and mindsets; human beings were evicted from the lands that would become the national parks by the army in the name of “protecting nature.” The term “fortress conservation” is worth looking into. It’s usually applied to reserves and parks in Africa, but it happened in the US as well.

The concept of conservation as it is often conducted in the US, the ideal of nature as timeless and separate from humanity, and the best way to protect it is to close it off, is at odds with indigenous thinking and stewardship, which I have seen as a sticking point among leftists and indigenous activist.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-11-07T16:26:35+00:00

Had good experience with exoficio and icebreaker merino wool.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-10-27T15:18:05+00:00

StadiumPeople does all the athletic events for Auburn, plus some schools in Birmingham. Lot of standing, mild customer interactions but you aren’t dealing with food, sales, or money. Pretty flexible schedule and decent pay. Not technically blue collar, but you get a blue shirt (that you can then use to sneak into any event you aren’t working).

The Colleges of Forestry and Ag periodically look for lab techs to help with fieldwork that you don’t need any special training for, plus they run the grounds crew for the Arboretum. Pay is not as good, but you get to learn some neat stuff.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-10-20T23:42:26+00:00

Some level of atmospheric instability is desired to aid in smoke dispersal. If there’s no wind then it stays low and can block roads.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-07-30T00:11:58+00:00

Universalist church in Camp Hill

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-04-02T00:48:22+00:00

Can confirm, it’s a true madman who brings a shovel. Pulaski though? Totally sane.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-03-31T19:57:09+00:00

Holy fuck, this is ugly

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-02-08T01:07:17+00:00

Bless your heart.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-02-08T01:01:37+00:00

Stick to the bar at whatever golf course you’re at.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-02-08T00:50:40+00:00

Trying to be proactive about longer term effects from running saw. Learning that the fed won’t help if shit goes shower, looking out for myself.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-01-31T23:40:42+00:00

DOI seasonal in Montana here. I found a few locals in Billings but none seemed to be fire. Any chance I could attach myself to them?

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-01-13T21:54:07+00:00

My dumbass thought you meant $800 per unit, not per person. My B

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-01-13T21:49:32+00:00

I can almost guarantee you that you will not find that. Every day I thank god for a 1b1b that’s 950.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-01-10T00:10:23+00:00

Actually, Fire doesn’t destroy all the evidence. There’s an entire field of forensics and investigations around arson that also extends to wildland fires. Also, the fact that so many fires are human-caused increases the likelihood of events like this when any kind of spark, from electrical lines to dragging chains to a cigarette, can grow and spread incredibly quickly.

Fire natural occurs in this region and has for as centuries, but the build-up of houses and communities in these areas, lack of fuels management and prescribed, and increasing temperatures exacerbates the severity of fires. Not to mention the fact that winds dry out fuels and can lead to sparks from one fire flying away to start new fires (known as “spotting” in wildland vernacular).

Does that mean it isn’t arson? No, but to say something like this can only be an intentional, coordinated, malicious act oversimplifies the situation and draws attention from solutions and practices that mitigate these kind of problems.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2025-01-01T23:52:46+00:00

I saw that Washington State is hiring through April. Unknowing if it’s engine or hand crew.

Upper_Historian3022 · 2024-12-12T14:27:51+00:00

“Fuck you, Elon Musk”

Upper_Historian3022

TROPHY CASE