have sixteen seasonals under my direct control and while this year they are all men, there have been women working in fire management. QWhat is the usual background for these seasonal positions? A We specifically recruit for four of these positions from the forestry department of the University of Maine. We work it as a cooperative effort to give their students experience in the field. This allows agencies to hire students in their field of studies non-competively. It helps to build a strong tie between us and their forestry department. Q Do many of these students go on to work for the park service? A About a third of them go on to work for some sort of government agency, usually the forest service or the park service. Q What are some of the drawbacks someone who is interested in a job for the Park Service should be aware of? A The biggest drawback right now is the lack of jobs. The government is going through major reduction in personnel and that really limits the opportunities for a new employee to get in. It is almost impossible now to go from being a seasonal to being a permanent employee. Although it is tough, there are opportunities out there, you just have to search them out. Everybody has a different way in and sometimes you just have to be at the right place at the right time. I do think that in the long run, there will be more opportunities.