Click Here to Return to the Outdoor Recreation Sector Overview
Christina Lopez: What is your role with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and why did you choose to work there?
Chris Sheffield: I work in the Recreation Grants branch, and I have the dual role of helping to manage our statewide Recreational Trails community grant program as well as coordinating the design and build of state park trail projects. It’s a good balance of administrative work and field time, which I appreciate. I’ve worked alongside Texas Parks and Wildlife staff for much of my professional career and I was excited to have the opportunity to join the team two years ago. It’s very gratifying to help local communities increase access to public lands through the completion of recreational trail projects funded by our grant program. These areas can make a real difference in how folks, young and old, experience nature in their community. I view state park trail projects the same way, and it’s exciting to manage these projects to fruition. .
CL: What difference can graduates expect to make by working in Outdoor Recreation careers?
CS: I think that increasing access to the outdoors is a difference maker in individual lives and folks with outdoor recreation careers can be very proud of the impact they’re making in that regard. As the embedded technology and pace of our lives increase, physical interactions with nature is something that keeps us grounded and centered. The value of these spaces and our interaction with them is not easily measured, but easy to understand. I think outdoor rec professionals will increasingly need to find a way to communicate that value to society so that funding streams for this kind of programming continues to exist.
CL: What advice can you provide to students/young professionals interested in pursuing a career in Outdoor Recreation?
CS: Certainly the people that enter this field are passionate about it. I think it's important to keep that up... and beyond your professional career, make sure that you have time in your life for interactions with nature and the outdoors outside of the scope of your work.
As is often the case, I’d say that networking is important in this field. That doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’ve built so many good relationships with potential employers or colleagues by working or volunteering alongside them. So my networking really happens by being heavily engaged with people and projects. That may happen at a weekend volunteer event… that’s a good place to start if you’re new to an area or field of interest. Join an organization or two that focus on this kind of work. Certainly long-term volunteer programs that offer a living stipend, like AmeriCorps or a conservation corps program, are great ways to meet a lot of conservation professionals while also getting good hands-on experience. That was my route into the field.
CL: How do you view future career opportunities in this field?
CS: I do feel like there is a fairly high level of competition for staff positions in this field. Potential employees often “pay their dues” with seasonal work or entry-level positions that may have more general maintenance-type job duties than they’d like to see. That being said, good employees are often recognized early on and identified for increasing responsibility and promotion in short order. Employment in the field should remain steady with some increases. Certainly anyone who can help make sure a diverse U.S. population is being engaged by outdoor recreation opportunities will find themselves very employable in this field.
CL: How might certification as NWF EcoLeader make a difference to employers?
CS: Anything you can do to set yourself apart in a competitive applicant pool is a good thing, and obviously the NWF EcoLeader certification shows you have proficiency in implementing conservation projects or programming. And don’t simply tell an employer you have any certification. Assume they don’t know what it means and explain its significance to their work environment.
CL: What should students study and how important is hand-on experience to finding a job in this field?
CL: Any closing words of wisdom?
CS: As a conservation professional, and specifically in the field Outdoor Recreation, you can be proud of the difference you’re making in people lives. Day to day, I like to carefully consider the design elements that go into a project and how making those seemingly small decisions can help further the feeling of connection that people have to the outdoors. You might look at a piece of infrastructure like a trail sign or an erosion control structure as a lifeless feature of infrastructure in a park, but these features have a countless number of interactions with people and things every day. And each of those interactions has a potential to make an impact.
***
Click Here to Return to the Outdoor Recreation Career Sector Overview
Interviewee: Chris Sheffield
State Park Trails Coordinator
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Interviewer: Christina Lopez, NWF Fellow
Christina Lopez: What is your role with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and why did you choose to work there?
Chris Sheffield: I work in the Recreation Grants branch, and I have the dual role of helping to manage our statewide Recreational Trails community grant program as well as coordinating the design and build of state park trail projects. It’s a good balance of administrative work and field time, which I appreciate. I’ve worked alongside Texas Parks and Wildlife staff for much of my professional career and I was excited to have the opportunity to join the team two years ago. It’s very gratifying to help local communities increase access to public lands through the completion of recreational trail projects funded by our grant program. These areas can make a real difference in how folks, young and old, experience nature in their community. I view state park trail projects the same way, and it’s exciting to manage these projects to fruition. .
CL: What difference can graduates expect to make by working in Outdoor Recreation careers?
CS: I think that increasing access to the outdoors is a difference maker in individual lives and folks with outdoor recreation careers can be very proud of the impact they’re making in that regard. As the embedded technology and pace of our lives increase, physical interactions with nature is something that keeps us grounded and centered. The value of these spaces and our interaction with them is not easily measured, but easy to understand. I think outdoor rec professionals will increasingly need to find a way to communicate that value to society so that funding streams for this kind of programming continues to exist.
CL: What advice can you provide to students/young professionals interested in pursuing a career in Outdoor Recreation?
CS: Certainly the people that enter this field are passionate about it. I think it's important to keep that up... and beyond your professional career, make sure that you have time in your life for interactions with nature and the outdoors outside of the scope of your work.
As is often the case, I’d say that networking is important in this field. That doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’ve built so many good relationships with potential employers or colleagues by working or volunteering alongside them. So my networking really happens by being heavily engaged with people and projects. That may happen at a weekend volunteer event… that’s a good place to start if you’re new to an area or field of interest. Join an organization or two that focus on this kind of work. Certainly long-term volunteer programs that offer a living stipend, like AmeriCorps or a conservation corps program, are great ways to meet a lot of conservation professionals while also getting good hands-on experience. That was my route into the field.
CL: How do you view future career opportunities in this field?
CS: I do feel like there is a fairly high level of competition for staff positions in this field. Potential employees often “pay their dues” with seasonal work or entry-level positions that may have more general maintenance-type job duties than they’d like to see. That being said, good employees are often recognized early on and identified for increasing responsibility and promotion in short order. Employment in the field should remain steady with some increases. Certainly anyone who can help make sure a diverse U.S. population is being engaged by outdoor recreation opportunities will find themselves very employable in this field.
CL: How might certification as NWF EcoLeader make a difference to employers?
CS: Anything you can do to set yourself apart in a competitive applicant pool is a good thing, and obviously the NWF EcoLeader certification shows you have proficiency in implementing conservation projects or programming. And don’t simply tell an employer you have any certification. Assume they don’t know what it means and explain its significance to their work environment.
CL: What should students study and how important is hand-on experience to finding a job in this field?
CS: Hands-on experience is extremely important in this field, for the obvious skill-building as well as the networking potential that I discussed earlier. There are so many ways to get that, and you should be looking for a diverse set of experiences, not just ones that match your specific field or area of interest… I was involved in an AmeriCorps program that combined green technology with the construction of homes for low income buyers and my knowledge of the carpentry and construction fields is an important aspect of my current job. You should focus your studies on what you’re passionate about, but also stretch yourself into areas you may not be comfortable with. Understand statistics even if you’re programmed to tune it out. Learn Spanish.
CL: Any closing words of wisdom?
CS: As a conservation professional, and specifically in the field Outdoor Recreation, you can be proud of the difference you’re making in people lives. Day to day, I like to carefully consider the design elements that go into a project and how making those seemingly small decisions can help further the feeling of connection that people have to the outdoors. You might look at a piece of infrastructure like a trail sign or an erosion control structure as a lifeless feature of infrastructure in a park, but these features have a countless number of interactions with people and things every day. And each of those interactions has a potential to make an impact.
***
Click Here to Return to the Outdoor Recreation Career Sector Overview
Type
Interviews
Sector
Habitat and Wildlife
Category Career Center Resources
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Date Added: Oct 27, 2017
Date Last Modified: Oct 27, 2017
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