My daugther's ultimate goal is to work for a National Park after she complete's college. Should I encourage this or try to talk her out of it? I'm worried about the job opportunities just not being there. Maybe she should be studying something else.

Your daughter can try to fina a job of natural parks first.

If that's what she's passionate about, I wouldn't dissuade her from it. I would just make sure she has a clear understanding of the risks associated with pursuing this career track. Government as a whole is unstable right now, and the National Parks service seems to be hit even harder than other sectors. If she does want to go ahead with it regardless, I'd at least try to make sure she's got a viable backup plan in place in case it doesn't work out.

I would encourage her to study something related to being a park ranger that also has other applications so she has the opportunity to be park ranger and also the opportunity to pivot to a different career. Biology with a minor in forestry is probably a better bet than just forestry for example

I would advise her looking at job postings that exist currently for the job she’s interested in. Then have her make a budget based on the salary, deducting money for taxes, cost of rent in that area, and other living expenses. Include the monthly cost of any student loan debt she’ll need to pay. If she comes out positive, and understands how much she will have after express are paid and what that means for her lifestyle, then it might be an option for her. If not, she should look into alternative career paths that will allow her to cover her necessities.

Your daughter's goal is worthy and in normal times it would be good to be supportive. But the current administration has no love for the National Parks and would probably destroy them and sell them off if they could. It's possible things could change for the better by the time your daughter is in the job market, but with the way the country has been dumbed down anything could happen.

I would encourage her to get a position as a seasonal aid through the park system now. A degree is not needed for this. It will give her the insight to see if it is a good fit and as an aid develop network opportunities and possible job opportunities later on. There are many different tracks in the park system- it would give her exposure to those and would help her over all career development.

Shadowing will be a good way to start.

I don't think you should try to talk her out of it, but you can let her know that there are other options out there. For example, she might be interested in working for a state or city park.

Let her volunteer at a local park first to see if it's something she really wants to do. If she still wants to do it, then she needs to weigh the cost of her degree vs. the ranger salary she will earn. I met a young ranger a few years ago, and she was always on temporary assignments, meaning she had to move to a different park each year. That's reality because so few permanent positions are open.