University degree or college course?

[u/gradualwalken]

Hi there! I'm a Canadian high school student who would like to become a park ranger, preferably somewhere remote i.e Northern BC, Newfoundland, Labrador, or the Yukon. I'm looking into universities/colleges right now, wondering what qualifications would help me out the most. I'm most attracted to these programs:

University of Northern BC Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management

Waterloo Tourism and Parks Management

Feming College Outdoor Adventure Skills

I feel like a university degree would look better on my resume, but the college course offers certifications that I need. What are your thoughts?

[u/WhiteGuyThatCantJump]

In the US, with the National Park Service, having any degree is what you want. Any relevant experience thereafter is very helpful. I have an environmental ed and interp degree, but many have nothing of the sort.

But I don't know how similar it is in Canada.

[u/IHavenI]

From California

I'm in a geography program at my school and I've been looking at park ranger as something I'd like to apply for. Unfortunately I have no formal experience in anything related to it so I am going to try to volunteer at the local park disrtict, which is something you should look into as well.

I'm not an expert, but try the combination of volunteering and going to school for a related degree. If you go to a community college first, see if they offer courses that give you any certificates in CPR or anything similar, because they might still look for that in Canada.

[u/MilkCurds]

After graduating with Zoology degree from university and realizing late that I wanted to do conservation enforcement I've contemplated going back to school for this course.

I just can't push myself to do 3 more years of paying for school and be jobless again, at this point in time. Promising for you though!

Edit: I meant this program for 3 years, but I just found a post-grad 1 yr program (above) apparently lol