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Hi y'all!
I've had a change of heart 3/4 through my BA, I think I've always wanted to be a park ranger, but family and what not pushed me away from it. Anyway, I would love work in the NPS or SPS but don't know where to start or if even my major would help in any way. I have a focus in cultural anthropology and a minor with native american studies. My dream is to work on a historical site, but I know I have to start somewhere. Also, I live in California/ SoCal, near Disney. So, I know where aren't really any parks near me so I'll have to move and find housing. I'm just kinda stuck... Should I a MA in forestry? Or something else that goes along with the Park Service? Sorry, for all the questions.
I have a BA in Anthropology and I'm currently working as an interp park ranger. I last worked with California State Parks in the winter and they have a ton of parks near LA.
I would absolutely spend some time adding volunteer or internship hours to your resume this summer or during the next semesters.
Personally, I'm not going for a Masters until I want or need a job that requires it. A Bachelors gets you into the lower level park jobs. Management jobs require a Masters, but you can also get one of those jobs (supposedly, I haven't tried) with equivalent experience or a degree/experience combination. For me, it's not currently worth the time or money, but your situation and desires might be totally different.
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The main thing that helped me was getting internships and volunteer experience related to the field on top of my degree. Part of my degree included classes that were specifically internships, but yours might not be like that. I worked in museums and parks, specifically. Volunteering also helps you figure out if you actually like/enjoy/tolerate the type of work park rangers do.
Interp work is a lot of speaking with the public, orienting, and educating them. This is often done in a visitor center so volunteering at a museum front desk is valuable and relevant experience. There were several museums on campus that I could work with, but I'm positive LA has tons of places. Even if you can't find an internship, volunteer work is something you can put on a government resume.
That's the other thing. Government resumes aren't just one or two pages. You're supposed to list all your relevant experience. Worked in a grocery store or fast food chain? That's customer service experience. It's also useful to use the language in the hiring announcement (like on USAJobs) because often your resume is filtered through a computer looking for keywords. USAJobs is the hub for federal jobs with the Park Service or Forest Service, but each state has their own website and application process too. And state jobs can be less competitive.
Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about the process for getting hired for maintenance and backcountry jobs, which you also might be interested in. I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have though.