Pros
Interesting work. Good benefits. You’ll meet some great people from all walks of life. Easy to have good work life balance. Great mission. You get to be outside a lot and the workloads are usually very manageable.
Cons
Really hard to get in if you don’t have veteran status. Impossible to get fired, so a lot of unmotivated people just counting down to retirement (definitely not the rule, but a significant issue especially in mid-level management). NPS abuses seasonal hiring to staff parks without having to provide benefits. Many seasonal positions don’t even offer housing, so you have to find short-term rentals on your own every 3-6 months. Very common to hear of people working for 5+ years as seasonals and still not even being referred for permanent positions. Promotions are few and far between and usually require you to move on your own dime. The culture differs greatly from park to park. I worked at two great parks and one horrible one. The problem is it’s easy to get stuck at a bad park for a long time.
