AmeriCorps Vista Alumni
By completing your service and becoming an AmeriCorps Vista Alumni, you have proven that you have the skills and experience to succeed. We value that service and offer rewarding career opportunities with responsibilities similar to what you may have experienced find in AmeriCorps.
Above photo: Amchat Edwards, Forest Service education specialist, shares Woodsy Owl's message of "Give a hoot, don't pollute" with children at the USDA Child Development Center playground in Washington D.C. (Forest Service photo by Cecilio Ricardo)
Career Fields
We offer careers that may be similar to the work that you focused on during your service. Positions are available nationwide!
Visit the following pages to learn more about more specific opportunities within each career field.
- Business Careers: Information Technology, Human Resources, Finance, Project Management, Grants, and more.
- Resources Management Careers: Forestry, Archeology, Geospatial, Land Use, Biology, Geology, Range Management, Physical Sciences, and more.
- Visitor Services Careers: Recreation Management, Volunteer Management, Trails and Facilities, Interpretation, and more.
- Communications Careers: Public Affairs, Legislative Affairs, Web management, Social Media, Graphic Design, and more.
- Fire and Aviation Careers: Firefighters, Prevention, Aviation, Equipment Operation, Analysts, and more.
- Medical and Safety Careers: Nursing, Law Enforcement, Safety, Dispatch, and more.
- Career Development and Support: Counselors, Teachers, Trainers, Cooks, Work Environment, Civil Rights, and more.
- Engineering, Facilities, and Maintenance: Engineering, Cooks, Operations Mangement, Maintenance, Mechanics, Equipment Operators, and more.
- Research and Development: Inventory Monitoring, Landscape Restoration, Sustainability, International Tropical Forestry.
Find Careers and Apply
As an AmeriCorps Vista Alumni you have a few options for how to search for careers and apply.
Noncompetitive Options
If you have noncompetitive eligibility (NCE) and meet the eligibility requirements of an open position, it's possible that we may be able to hire you even faster than the traditional hiring process. The following resources may help you use your NCE to join the Forest Service.
- Regularly check our Outreach Database. This website shows upcoming opportunities and allows you to respond to the hiring official to share that you are interested and have NCE. Feel free to reach out to them to ask if they are considering filling the position more quickly by using a candidate with NCE. Even if they do not plan to use NCE, if you are still interested in the position, complete the response request to get a heads up on when the job opens on USAJOBS.gov.
- Search USAJOBS.gov. You can select Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista as a filter choice. Find all Forest Service Opportunities open on USAJOBS to AmeriCorps Vista Alumni with NCE. Check the other filters if they apply.
- Reach out to your local Forest Service office to ask about any upcoming opportunities.
Competitive Process
The competitive process takes a little longer and jobs are open to various applicant pools. Use the How to Apply webpage for tips on how to set up a profile and resume on USAJOBS.gov and how to find jobs.
Subscribe to Job Seeker Emails
To receive information about upcoming hiring events and webinars, please subscribe to our Job Seeker Emails.
Help is Available
- Visit the How to Apply webpage for tips, tricks, webinars, and more.
- For questions about career opportunities and applications call 1-877-372-7248 (select option 2 and follow prompts). We're open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time and closed on all Federal holidays.
Regional Contacts
- Northern Region (R1): Twelve National Forests spread across North Idaho, Montana, and a sliver of northeastern Washington. The 4 National Grasslands of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands are in North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota. Visit the Northern Region (R1) website or email the R1 Recruiter.
- Rocky Mountain Region (R2): Region 2 encompasses national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and most of South Dakota and Wyoming. Visit the Rocky Mountain Region (R2) website or email the R2 Recruiter.
- Southwest Region (R3): Includes six national forests in Arizona, five national forests and a national grassland in New Mexico, and one national grassland each in Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. Visit the Southwest Region (R3) website or email the R3 Recruiter.
- Intermountain Region (R4): Includes twelve National Forests which are located in Utah, Nevada, western Wyoming, southern and central Idaho, as well as one National Grassland in Idaho and the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Colorado. Visit the Intermountain Region (R4) website or email the R4 Recruiter.
- Pacific Southwest Region (R5): Includes lands in California, Hawaii, and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. Visit the Pacific Southwest Region (R5) website or email the R5 Recruiter.
- Pacific Northwest Region 6 (R6): Contains 17 National Forests, a National Scenic Area, a National Grassland, and two National Volcanic Monuments, all within the States of Oregon and Washington. Visit the Pacific Northwest Region (R6) website. The R6 Recruiter email is coming soon.
- Southern Region (R8): Includes forests in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Floriday, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Visit the Southern Region (R8) website or email the R8 Recruiter.
- Eastern Region (R9): Includes 20 states in the northeast and Great Lakes areas. Visit the Eastern Region (R9) website or email the R9 Recruiter.
- Alaska Region (R10): Visit the Alaska Region (R10) website or email the R10 Recruiter.
- Law Enforcement (LE): Visit the Law Enforcement (LE) website or email the LE Recruiter.
More Resources
The USDA is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer