Otto-
Take a look at some of the requirements for some of those jobs. You may want to look into a few college courses (look for online courses too!) in Land Management, Animal Husbandry, Conservation…

You having a class or two in that area is going to put you ahead of me who doesn’t have any background.

At least that’s what a Ranger in Wyoming told me years ago when I thought about leaving here.

quote:

Originally posted by mrapteam666:
EDIT---
As you get closer to retirement, keep an eye on USA Jobs...
Most military installations have Game Wardens, and they are GS series.
There were a couple at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, and one of them was the biggest most useless, sloppiest Shitbag I ever met. I hate saying that about people, but wet toilet paper was more useful.

You can always go out to California and be one of those on base Park Rangers that chase around the Desert tortoise in 29 Palms / Ft Irwin!
Ft Bragg chasing away the Green Berrets from the Redheaded Woodpeckers!

At my last agency, the head was a GW for 30 years before he took on his current position. I stuck my head into his office and relayed what my State Park Police buddy told me.

Many here may know about the TV show, “Loan Star Law,” featuring Texas GW’s. My buddy told me that after the show was up and running, he and other SPP began seeing a change in the GW’s. He said the GW’s began thinking they were celebrities just being Texas GW’s. Because of this, they would refer to their Texas Parks & Wildlife brethren as…”Fame Wardens.”

My agency head got a chuckle out of that, and I still kept my job.

It just so happened a “Fame Warden” from one of the shows seasons had his office in our HQ. We worked with each other several times during my stint there. He, too, had a chuckle about my buddy’s title for them. He’s a really good guy with a great family.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ftttu,

I was just looking at some numbers, they average 10-15 or so game wardens hired yearly in WI. Of course that’s something, but not high numbers.

I’m not trying to derail anything, but what about the mindset of a corrections officer? The numbers are a lot higher, various needs around the State. I had a relative retire out of the job, yeah, not for everyone, maybe not most.

Seems to me a career military guy should be able to acclimate, maybe.

This got me thinking, maybe I need to look for a job as an armored truck employee when I quit this gig.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
This got me thinking, maybe I need to look for a job as an armored truck employee when I quit this gig.

WI may be different, but cash in transit/armored car guards around here pay like $18/hour, and as a result they obviously don't recruit the best and brightest.

It's also hot, heavy work, with long hours.

Not something I'd recommend, especially as a retirement gig.

Related:

A good book series.

The Mike Bowditch Series by Paul Doiron: This bestselling mystery collection follows Mike Bowditch, a young and principled Maine game warden who investigates murders, poachers, and secrets hidden deep within the rugged wilderness.

My 2¢ (if it’s worth even that much) is that I got to know a little of what a Colorado Department of Wildlife (Parks and Wildlife now, I believe) officer did, and I thought, “No, I wouldn’t want to do that.” On the other hand, I’ve often wondered what being a US Forest Service law enforcement officer would be like.

I will say, though, that I’d rather deal with the average hunter than the average national forest camper. Plus I’m a little bemused by the frequent remarks pointing out the obvious fact that all hunters will be armed. What are we, the members of a firearms-related discussion forum, saying? That people whom we know have guns are automatically more dangerous than someone who might only possibly have a gun? I believe I’d rather deal with the average hunter or even a camper in the wilderness than the average city dweller.

Take it for what it’s worth, but this was from an AI Gemini question response: “Around 91–92 state conservation officers [i.e., game wardens] were fatally shot or assaulted by criminals (such as poachers, armed felons, or trespassers).” That was from 1886 until 2010; yes, total in 124 years, or much less than one per year for the entire country. About two-thirds of line-of-duty deaths during that period were due to accidents, animal attacks, medical events, etc.

On the other hand, there is this, also from Gemini, but it is more of an AI opinion rather than hard statistic:
Per-Encounter Danger: While raw numbers are lower than traditional police department fatalities (due to the small total pool of around 7,000–8,000 game wardens in the US), the job carries an exceptionally high assault rate per contact.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:

I’m not trying to derail anything, but what about the mindset of a corrections officer?

I hope this doesn’t sound negative. But I don’t want to be around people all the time. 10 years working with drunk drug addict people in my previous job as a site supervisor, then 20 years working with dumb ass people in the Navy. I just want to be more to myself and not surrounded all the time by jackasses.

This is why I thought a game warden would be a good path, mostly alone and without constant interaction. I understand I have to deal with folks but it’s not 100% of the time.

I can understand that, a prison could be a nuthouse.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
I hope this doesn’t sound negative.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

one thing to consider,


in my previous post I mentioned being ticketed for not having boat registration,

well my fishing buddy did not have his fishing license on him either, so we both got ticketed,


had to go to court, they do cases by last name, and with a name beginning with C, mine was about an hour wait,

produced the correct registration , apologized for not having it with me, released with no fine and done,

my buddy's last name starts with a M,, so it was a bit of a wait (we drove together)
he got off like I did, his license was in order and dated prior to the ticket,

easy peasey,


however all the other cases were different,
fishing with a license
drinking in public
DUI on several ''drivers'' of electric boats
fish taken that were not proper sized (slot limits on some)
smoking weed
possession of weed
possession of controlled substance

and a few others,

GW's , 2 in the boat, made a couple loops around the lake for a 1/2 day and wrote a pile of tickets, and had a few taken off


i used to work for a man that hunted not far from me on a farm,
he, and the owners son were the only 2 that hunted it,

son did something stupid, hunted on a sunday, then illegal,

got caught,
and the GW's staked the place out and caught my old boss in a tree stand, rifle and shotgun loaded (shotgun only county) and he was lucky,
they just had him ticketed, and forfeit the deer he shot,

they could have taken all his guns, 4wheeler and truck,

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Related:

A good book series.

The Mike Bowditch Series by Paul Doiron: This bestselling mystery collection follows Mike Bowditch, a young and principled Maine game warden who investigates murders, poachers, and secrets hidden deep within the rugged wilderness.

The Joe Pickett series, by C.J. Box, is another.