5 towns in 5 states. You pick. · Forest Service
This job needs fire experience. New to fire? See the entry-level jobs →
Pulled from this posting's official requirements — full text below.
This role is further up the ladder. If you're starting out, you'd begin as a rookie crewmember and work up to it. Here's the path:
Crewmember (Firefighter Type 2)
Senior firefighter · squad · engine operator
Squad boss → engine captain · crew boss
Superintendent · module leader · fire management officer
Specialist track: smokejumper, hotshot, and helitack crews are a parallel path you can jump to after a season on the ground.
Federal fire career structure (NWCG / DOI). Time to advance varies by experience, openings, and qualifications.
A short summary of the official job ad below. Check the official wording before you apply.
$50,460–$72,644/yr
base salary per year · GS-7–8
GS is the federal General Schedule pay scale. The number is the grade — higher means more pay and responsibility.
That's the floor. Here's how a year stacks up once overtime (1.5×) and hazard pay (+25% on the fireline) during fire season are added on top of the base salary:
Slow season — few, short fires — little deployment
Typical busy season — regular fires, steady overtime
Big fire year — heavy deployment all summer
Estimate, based on the midpoint of this posting's pay range (for salaried roles, overtime is figured at the hourly-equivalent rate). The overtime hours — roughly 300 / 700 / 1,300 in a full 6-month season, scaled to the months you pick — are modeled on reported earnings.
Want the full pay picture? See how much wildland firefighters make by grade: base, overtime, hazard, incident pay, and per diem.
The big money is for fire work — not desk time.
These rules are the same for everyone, rookie to supervisor. Base pay comes from real job postings; the rules below come straight from federal law:
Overtime — time-and-a-half
For hours over 40 spent fighting fire. On a fire, even supervisors earn full overtime — regular office hours don't count.
✓ Federal law: Firefighter Pay Reform Act · 5 U.S.C. 5542 →Hazard pay — +25%
An extra quarter on top of your pay — but only for hours actually on the fire line. Not for office or standby time.
✓ Federal law: Federal hazard-pay rules · 5 CFR 550 →Incident pay — up to $9,000 a year
A daily bonus when you're sent to a multi-day fire away from your home base.
✓ Federal law: Incident Response Premium Pay · 5 U.S.C. 5545c →After you apply, call these numbers. A personal call is a great way to stand out from other applicants and improve your chances of getting hired.
When you apply on USAJOBS, you pick the towns you'd work in. Call the stations in those towns. Call the "Start here" number in each town first. Try the others only if that goes nowhere.
Get the 6 phone numbers for this job.
The guide gives you every station's phone number on this site, the call script, and a tracker for your calls. $79.
NOTE: These numbers are public. You can find each one yourself on government websites. The guide just makes it easy: every number for this job, in one place.
The towns on this job that hire the most entry-level firefighters
What to say when you call
Get my exact phone scripts, the words I used when I got my job: what to say to the front desk, to the crew boss, and on a voicemail.
Get the guide🔥 Get new wildland fire jobs by email
The government posts new fire jobs most Mondays. Every Tuesday morning we email you the new ones, so you can apply first. 128 jobs are open right now.
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You pick the towns when you apply. This one job ad covers 5 towns in 5 states. Open a state to see its towns, grouped by national forest. Pick a town to see its fire stations and offices, a phone number, and the fires nearby.
Map: each dot is a town. Click a dot to open that town's page.
Ouachita National Forest
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
Kisatchie National Forest
George Washington and Jefferson National Forest
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Specialized Experience Requirement: GS-07: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in forestry management; or a related subject-matter field. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following; Use computer programs required for data collection, cruise processing, traversing, and GPS. Experience in the fundamentals of timber cruising including: tree measurements, map reading and compass use, species identification, defect recognition and determination, quality determination, traversing, use of aerial photos, and use of timber cruising tools and instruments. Use of sampling systems such as 3P, fixed area, point, and sample tree to determine statistically sound cruise samples. GS-08: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in forestry management; or a related subject-matter field. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Drafted timber cruise plans, performing lay out of timber sale boundaries; Summarized cruise and marking data for inclusion in reports describing timber quantity, resources, topographic features and timber marking guidelines; Prepared timber sale appraisals and contracts. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Duties listed below are at the full performance level.
Prepares and executes a variety of conventional timber cruises and sampling methods to estimate quality and quantity of timber.
Prepares conventional types of logging systems appraisals, completes timber sale appraisals to determine value, and prepares timber sale or stewardship contracts.
Determines sample cruise design, selects sampling methods, completes timber sale cruises to estimate volume by species, assembles statistical data, and summarizes results.
Gathers data for logging system analysis such as road access, skyline profiles, and landing location suitability.
This Positions may be filled at one or more of the duty locations included in this announcement. Final determination of the duty location will be made at the time of the job offer. This position performs functions related to timber sale preparation. See the additional information section for contact information. USDA Employees: Please refer to the Next Steps section.
Conditions of Employment: Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov The U.S. Government utilizes Trusted Workforce 2.0 to implement Continuous Vetting (CV) as a-whole-of government approach to personnel security. If selected for this position, you will be subject to continuous automated record checks of criminal, financial, and public record databases throughout your period of eligibility or employment, replacing traditional periodic reinvestigations. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below: Forest Management Oral Communication Timber Written Communication Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred. Accomplishment Record Review: If you are found minimally qualified, a rating panel will review your resume and Accomplishment Record narratives. Accomplishment Record narratives should clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the competencies listed above. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13107755
Education is not a requirement for this position and will not be used in lieu of specialized experience.
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status. You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Current Forest Service employees: Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act: Copies of Notification of Personnel Action(s) (SF-50) showing the employee served in eligible appointment(s) for a period(s) of more than 24 mos w/o a break between appointments of two+ years. Include initial hire actions, extensions, conversions and separation Sf-50s for each period. Submit performance rating(s) showing acceptable performance for each period counted towards eligibility signed by supervisor(s). If documentation does not exist for one or more periods, submit a statement from supervisor(s) indicating acceptable performance. Applicants who do not have performance documentation for any period shall provide a reason why the documentation is not available and statement that performance for all periods was at an acceptable level.
Employees of the following USDA agencies who apply for this position, whose current permanent grade is equal to the grade of the advertised position, and whose selection would result in a relocation outside the commuting area of their current duty station may not currently be considered for selection to this position: Agricultural Research Service; Economic Research Service; National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service; United States Forest Service; Food and Nutrition Administration; Foreign Agricultural Service; Rural Development and component organizations; the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area, to include the FPAC Business Center, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Risk Management Agency, and Farm Service Agency and Farm Service Agency County employees; Office of the General Counsel; and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. This guidance is in alignment with the court order dated October 13, 2026, in American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, Case No. 26-cv-09976-VC (N.D. Calif.). Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to sm.fs.hrm_elr@usda.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.
For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact: South Lake Tahoe, CA - Kyle Taylor at Kyle.Taylor@usda.gov Hot Springs, AR; Gainesville, GA; Blacksburg, VA, or Pineville, LA - Michael Keller at Michael.keller@usda.gov Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met. Salary wage as shown is for Rest of the U.S. Final salary will be determined at the time of selection dependent on the duty location for more information, refer to the Office of Personnel Management, Salary and Wages web page. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is not guaranteed. The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional Information is available on the OPM Website. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE. Forest Service daycare facilities may be available. Government Housing may be available. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation's most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and the Forest Products Laboratory, and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies. It's an awesome responsibility - but the rewards are as limitless as the views.
HRM_Contact_Center@usda.gov
1-877-372-7248 X2
Have questions?
Book a 30-minute call with Graham. He got a Forest Service fire job in Montana with zero experience and worked the summer of 2026. Ask anything: the application, the pack test, what the money really looks like, what to pack. Parents welcome.
“Talking with Graham was super helpful, he explained the hiring process and how to successfully reach out to fire crews. He is very knowledgeable on the different paths to becoming a Wildland firefighter and answered all my questions.”
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"Name": "Forestry Technician"
}
],
"PositionURI": "https://www.usajobs.gov:443/job/891691100",
"PositionTitle": "Forestry Technician (Timber Sale Preparation)",
"DepartmentName": "Department of Agriculture",
"PositionEndDate": "2026-11-17T23:59:59.9970",
"OrganizationName": "Forest Service",
"PositionLocation": [
{
"CityName": "Hot Springs, Arkansas",
"Latitude": 34.509426,
"Longitude": -93.05231,
"CountryCode": "United States",
"LocationName": "Hot Springs, Arkansas",
"CountrySubDivisionCode": "Arkansas"
},
{
"CityName": "South Lake Tahoe, California",
"Latitude": 38.9107,
"Longitude": -120.007,
"CountryCode": "United States",
"LocationName": "South Lake Tahoe, California",
"CountrySubDivisionCode": "California"
},
{
"CityName": "Gainesville, Georgia",
"Latitude": 34.297276,
"Longitude": -83.8255,
"CountryCode": "United States",
"LocationName": "Gainesville, Georgia",
"CountrySubDivisionCode": "Georgia"
},
{
"CityName": "Pineville, Louisiana",
"Latitude": 31.321754,
"Longitude": -92.43485,
"CountryCode": "United States",
"LocationName": "Pineville, Louisiana",
"CountrySubDivisionCode": "Louisiana"
},
{
"CityName": "Blacksburg, Virginia",
"Latitude": 37.2263,
"Longitude": -80.4106,
"CountryCode": "United States",
"LocationName": "Blacksburg, Virginia",
"CountrySubDivisionCode": "Virginia"
}
],
"PositionSchedule": [
{
"Code": "1",
"Name": ""
}
],
"PositionStartDate": "2026-11-10T00:00:00.0000",
"ApplicationCloseDate": "2026-11-17T23:59:59.9970",
"PositionOfferingType": [
{
"Code": "15317",
"Name": ""
}
],
"PositionRemuneration": [
{
"Description": "Per Year",
"MaximumRange": "72644",
"MinimumRange": "50460",
"RateIntervalCode": "PA"
}
],
"PublicationStartDate": "2026-11-10T00:00:00.0000",
"QualificationSummary": "In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Specialized Experience Requirement: GS-07: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in forestry management; or a related subject-matter field. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following; Use computer programs required for data collection, cruise processing, traversing, and GPS. Experience in the fundamentals of timber cruising including: tree measurements, map reading and compass use, species identification, defect recognition and determination, quality determination, traversing, use of aerial photos, and use of timber cruising tools and instruments. Use of sampling systems such as 3P, fixed area, point, and sample tree to determine statistically sound cruise samples. GS-08: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in forestry management; or a related subject-matter field. Specialized experience is defined as two or more of the following: Drafted timber cruise plans, performing lay out of timber sale boundaries; Summarized cruise and marking data for inclusion in reports describing timber quantity, resources, topographic features and timber marking guidelines; Prepared timber sale appraisals and contracts. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.",
"AnnouncementClosingType": "01",
"PositionLocationDisplay": "Multiple Locations",
"PositionFormattedDescription": [
{
"Label": "Dynamic Teaser",
"LabelDescription": "Hit highlighting for keyword searches."
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}