Careers and Jobs
The Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region and covers just over 3 million acres and stretches from Leadville, Colorado, to Elkhart, Kansas. The Forest and Grassland Supervisor's Office is in Pueblo, Colorado, and district offices are in Leadville, Salida, Cañon City, Conifer, Colorado Springs, Fairplay and Springfield, Colorado, and Elkhart, Kansas. The area is known for ample hiking, fishing, skiing, camping and biking opportunities. View more information about the PSICC.
Forest Service Careers - Real Jobs. Real Impact.
Our interactive map allows you to find current and upcoming career opportunities. You can filter by location, pay and position type. You can also view a list on our USAJobs Dashboard.
Permanent employment
Permanent hiring for the Forest Service is conducted year-round as positions become available. Applicants will find advertisements for current, open, competitive positions on USAJobs.gov and can learn more about employment with the federal government by visiting the Office of Personnel Management website.
Seasonal employment
The Forest Service employs both permanent and temporary seasonal employees. Advertisements for the summer season typically appear on USAJobs.gov in December for work that will be performed between May and September. Winter season positions are typically advertised in the summer for work to be performed between November and April. Employees are expected to work 40 hours per week through the seasons. Crew schedules can usually accommodate students returning to school.
Temporary appointments are limited to about six months, depending on available funds. Employees earn sick leave and paid vacation time and, if employed for 90 days or more, are eligible to enroll for health benefits. Housing may be available on some districts; contact the district you wish to work in to learn more about availability and cost. Potential applicants who would like to learn more about working for the Forest Service can go to the national jobs website.
Student Programs
There are many opportunities for part-time and temporary employment for high school and college students. Find out more about summer intern programs.
Volunteering
Volunteers are the heartbeat of the Forest Service! Your talents and skills are matched with your work preference to obtain a role that satisfies you and best fulfills our mission.
Fire positions
The PSICC hires both seasonal and permanent fire positions. Firefighting jobs are usually performed in primitive, backcountry conditions from mid-April through early fall. The Forest Service provides personal protective equipment, clothing, a hardhat and fire shelter, but employees must provide their own lug soled, leather 8-inch topped boots. The Forest Service provides training in many specialty fields that are as diverse as the Forest Service itself. Applicants should search for job series 0462, which includes most fire-related jobs, when searching USAJobs and regional listings.
Job series 0462: forestry aids and technicians
| Job series 0462 fire-related specialty | Position description |
|---|---|
| Fire suppression (hand crew) | Serves as a crew member or leader of a suppression crew, building firelines to control spreading wildland fire; patrols controlled fires and extinguishes remaining burning material; observes, collects and preserves evidence of the cause of fires |
| Fire suppression (engine) | Drives fire engines to fire locations and works with specialized firefighting equipment to help construct firelines, facilitate burnout operations and mop up hotspots near the edge of the fire |
| Hotshots* | Serves as a member or leader of a 20-person organized interagency hotshot suppression crew, building firelines, conducting burn out operations and mopping up after the fire using chainsaws and hand tools such as pulaskis and shovels; draws specialized assignments that reflect their higher levels of experience and training, often dispatched nationwide to larger fires |
| Helitack** | Serves as a member or leader of a wildland fire suppression crew, which specializes in helicopter operations that includes loading/unloading helicopter cargo and passengers, aerial ignition, reconnaissance, medical transport, water delivery and external load missions; may land in remote areas to provide initial attack for wildland fires; builds firelines using hand tools, chainsaws and support equipment; must be in outstanding physical condition and have at least one year of prior firefighting experience |
| Smokejumper | Serves as a specialized firefighter or leader who parachutes into remote areas for initial attack of wildland fires; performs maintenance on fire equipment; inspects and packs parachutes; must be self-reliant and work both in small groups or as part of larger organized crews; must be in outstanding physical condition and have at least one year of prior firefighting experience |
| Fire prevention | Serves as a fire prevention technician, establishing contact with forest users, visitors and local residents; informs the public of fire danger; advises of precautions to prevent occurrence of destructive fires; explains pertinent laws and regulations |
| Lookout | Serves as a fire lookout at remote tower stations; observes, plots and reports fire starts, reporting locations, estimated size and fire behavior; interacts with fire suppression crews and dispatch through radio communications |
| Dispatch | Serves as a fire dispatcher, operating two-way radios, telephones, telecopiers and computer terminals to order and dispatch resources for fire suppression purposes; responsible for processing information for fire weather conditions, forecasts and other factors affecting fire management |
| Fuels | Performs fuel management duties, including igniting prescribed fires, collecting fuel inventory data, hand and machine piling and other brush disposal techniques; gathers data and records information on fuel types, weather conditions, fire behaviors and status of work accomplished |
*More about hotshots
A hotshot crew is made up of temporary and career agency personnel. Hotshot crews draw specialized assignments that reflect their higher levels of experience and training, and they are often dispatched nationwide to larger fires.
Pike Hotshots
The Pike Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) provides safe, professional, organized, motivated and cost effective resources for wildland fire, natural resource management and disaster assistance for all-risk incidents throughout the world. Crew members work, eat, rest and travel together, which requires a high level of commitment, flexibility, teamwork and camaraderie. The Pike IHC averages approximately 100 days per season on assignments away from home and are considered on-call 24 hours a day.
The Pike IHC supports fire operations by constructing firelines and conducting burnout operations, mop-up, monitoring and rehabilitation. They work to accomplish all aspects of prescribed fire activities, timber stand improvement, hazardous fuels reduction, trail maintenance and construction, range improvements and recreation site cleanup. The work is hard and requires each member to pass the work capacity test at the arduous level.
**More about helitack
A helitack crew is highly specialized and requires at least one year of prior firefighting experience. Additional duties of helitack crew members that may not apply on the PSICC include rappelling from a hovering helicopter and constructing helispots in remote areas.
Monument Helitack
Monument Helitack is a specially trained, 10-person crew based in Monument, Colorado. The Monument team can be rapidly deployed to incidents within the Rocky Mountain Region and work cooperatively with many agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, Colorado State Forest Service, counties and private lands to provide initial attack, aerial suppression and operational and logistic support to fire operations for the PSICC, partner and cooperating agencies in the Pueblo dispatch zone and other incidents throughout the nation. Because of the strenuous nature of the mission, people interested in positions with this elite team must pass the work capacity test at the arduous level. For more information, contact the helibase Monday through Friday during normal business hours at 719-487-8107.
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