Bakersfield College hosted a Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park speaker on Nov. 3 at the Campus Center who discussed working in California State Parks.
Jerelyn Oliveira, a State Park Interpreter of 30 years, explained to the audience the qualifications and expectations they would have if interested in the field.
According to Oliveira, the acceptance process includes an exam, an agility test, and a psychology test. Those interested must also first have completed 60 units in college and, if they get accepted, go to an academy for 6 months.
“We are state police, basically,” Oliveira said when describing what her job is like.
There are a variety of jobs to choose from as well.
The jobs are usually during specific times of the year. These seasonal jobs last 189 days, and you can only work 1500 hours (about 2 months). She mentioned Sequoia National Park as having many positions available. The time to apply is March.
“You wear a variety of hats when you work at a park,” she said.
There is a sense of unpredictability regarding jobs like Oliveira’s. She indicated that she’s lucky if she can complete most of her tasks on any given day; she might be suddenly called in to help with something, unexpectedly.
When asked what makes her stay, she said it was the job itself and the parks she gets to spend time in. From her perspective, the sunsets make it worth it.
Near the end, when describing getting into her line of work, she simply stated, “Experience will account for a lot.”