WEEK     JOB: PARK RANGER

LOCATION: HILO, HAWAII

EMPLOYER: HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

WAGE: $46,625 YEAR [Source: www.rangercareers.com]

JOB DESCRIPTION: A park ranger’s main duties are park maintenance, conservation, incident relief, interacting with visitors and ensuring their safety. I spent my time with the eruption crew. We were positioned down at the coastline, where lava has covered the roadway as a result of various eruptions (until June 2007 lava was flowing directly into the ocean). Visitors can walk down the road until it meets lava rock. There’s a NO PARKING sign, half-buried yet still visible after being caught in the lava.

INDUSTRY IQ:

• Park rangers are very well educated; most have a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies.

• There are two main types of lava, pahoehoe (“pa-hoy-hoy”) and a’a (“ah-ah”). When it cools, pahoehoe lava is smooth and dense, whereas a’a lava forms individual rocks (a few inches to several feet) and is porous and jagged.