CA Warden to Ranger SPPO lateral?

[SorenLorenson]

Hi,

I am interested in both CA state Fish & Wildlife Warden and State Park Peace Office (SPPO Ranger) positions.

Because I am not sure which position I would be happiest in, I want to make sure that I would have opportunities to make a lateral move. But it seems like it might be harder to go from Warden to SPPO than going from SPPO to Warden.

On the one hand, every SPPO job post says: "This is a Peace Officer Position. To be eligible, you must meet the minimum qualifications established by the Department of Human Resources AND either be currently eligible or eligible for reinstatement as a PC 830.2, California State Peace Officer."

On the other hand, this says:
"Pursuant to State Personnel Board (SPB) Rule 250 and the SPB's decision in Cynthia McReynolds v. California Public Utilities Commission (Case No. 13-0396N), effective December 3, 2013, all employees transferring to another position without examination must meet the minimum qualifications of the new position. As a result, current State Civil Service Peace Officers (Under PC830.2: CHP, DFG, etc.) who possesses a POST Basic Certificate are generally not eligible for a lateral into an open (advertised) State Park Peace Officer (SPPO) position."

These are actually consistent in that they both mean that one needs to meet minimum requirements for SPPO position to transfer. But I'm not entirely certain what that means from a practical standpoint, since one of the stated minimum requirements for the Ranger (but not cadet) positions is "Successful completion (within the last three years) of the Department of Parks and Recreation's basic visitor services, resource management, interpretation, and park operations training program as a State Park Ranger Cadet."

So if I read all that correctly, a CDFW Warden would basically have to apply as a SPPO Cadet and then get waived out of the POST portion of the academy but take the park specific parts. Or would one apply to an open SPPO position and then get hired and sent to the park portion of the academy.

The latter is the CDFW process:
"If I am already working as a peace officer can I laterally transfer to the CDFW without going through the POST Academy?

Yes. The Department now accepts current Peace Officer applicants. Applicants will still have to attend an 8 week Fish and Wildlife specific Academy."


Can anyone shed light on the actual practices for CDFW wardens making lateral moves to SPPO positions?

[Desertdoc]

Go here, post up an intro...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/forumdisplay.php?f=63

I can help navigate the quagmire that is SPB and CALHR. Happy to help.

5M target first.

[CreamyFettucini]

It's hard enough to land a job in law enforcement, don't restrict where you apply based on doing a lateral transfer later on. Apply everywhere, take whichever dept gives you an offer and learn as much as you can. Figure out transferring later if that's something you want to do.

[L1556]

Simple answer, yes you can go back and forth between departments. If you're a warden going to State Parks you'll have to complete the park operations part of the academy. Parks officers going to warden have to complete the DFW specific training.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[SorenLorenson]

Thanks Desertdoc. I know from establishing list eligibility for a totally different classification that CalHR is a disaster.

I am kind of figuring I can use my patience and willingness to make the effort to navigate the process and be persistent to my advantage.

And L1556, thanks for the brief answer. Can you or anyone clarify what that would look like, since the academies run at most once a year? Can a warden apply to open SPPO positions, and then get sent to the next academy?

I know it might seem like I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but I'm considering a mid-40's career change, so for a number of reasons I'm not really in a position to just apply and figure out all the details later.

[Desertdoc]

Then let's get it real simple. Bottom line, do you want:

LE with ANY agency

LE only the agencies listed in your OP.

?

With the State of CA it will be 1 year from exam posting to job offer.

If you want to serve, use the shotgun approach and apply with any and all LE

http://www.butte.edu/departments/careertech/publicsafety/fish_game.html

An option.

[Galli1565]

I can strongly suggest that you should not work for CA DPR. If your going to go resource LE, do F&W. It you want more money, go CHP. You can always lateral later.

[SorenLorenson]

I can strongly suggest that you should not work for CA DPR. If your going to go resource LE, do F&W. It you want more money, go CHP. You can always lateral later.

Galli1565, if you want to share any specifics about your recommendation against CA DPR, either here or via PM, I would really appreciate understanding more about the issues.

[MJB]

I hope you hunt and fish if you want to be a warden.......I know too many wardens that don't and they miss the ideology of the job.

[Tacmike]

You really, let me emphasize REALLY need to do multiple ride alongs with both agencies before you apply. These are not your standard Law Enf organizations...and , if it matters, the pay kinda sucks. I am in no way demeaning the positions, I'm just pointing out, that even within the series, the actual job varies widely geographically. Also, promotional viability is extremely limited. Many, many, many recruits leave both agencies withing a couple of years cause it wasn't what they thought it would be. Other, stay forever, cause it was exactly what they wanted.

[TrailerparkTrash]

I hope you hunt and fish if you want to be a warden.......I know too many wardens that don't and they miss the ideology of the job.

BOOM! So true. My big game hunting partner of 24 years is a retired CA warden now. Over the years he would always comment how each new class of wardens coming in had a ever shrinking number of wardens that had never gone hunting or fishing before becoming wardens themselves.

While already an LEO with another agency, I used to ride along with him in remote areas of the state and think, "man he has an awesome job." I thought about lateraling because it looked like a job that I would have absolutely loved. The only thing holding me up was that the F&W Wardens are one of the LOWEST paid LE jobs in the state and I would have taken a HUGE pay cut. Had I started out as a warden while being single with no kids, I probably would have done it.

If I were staring out brand new, I'd choose the "Warden" position before any park ranger position, due to internal job opportunities available and the vast area of the entire state, vs a few parks. The Wardens can go anywhere in the state with seniority and position availability. Park LE's are limited to pretty much parks only. That's just my opinion on it all anyway.

[Desertdoc]

^^^^It is a great thing when you have a career that makes you say:

"can you believe we get paid to do this?".

[SorenLorenson]

I hope you hunt and fish if you want to be a warden.......I know too many wardens that don't and they miss the ideology of the job.

I'm an avid fisherman, and I'd be most interested in Warden positions that would put me primarily on a marine/coastal beat, ideally patrolling by boat.

[SorenLorenson]

Then let's get it real simple. Bottom line, do you want:

LE with ANY agency

LE only the agencies listed in your OP.

?

With the State of CA it will be 1 year from exam posting to job offer.

If you want to serve, use the shotgun approach and apply with any and all LE

http://www.butte.edu/departments/careertech/publicsafety/fish_game.html

An option.

Definitely not interested in just any LE job, and definitely interested in Resource/wildlife/maritime jobs that are not necessarily LE. I have aged out of Federal LE jobs, but would still be interested in (non-LE) Ranger positions there.

I am now planning to apply for both the CA Warden (now) and SPPO (when posted, hopefully this spring), but I wanted to make sure that in doing so, I wasn't picking one in a way that would prevent a future lateral move to the other (since there was one place on the DPR website where they specifically stated that "DFG" (sic) peace officers are "generally not eligible" to make a lateral move to a DPR SPPO position).

As for going the self-sponsored academy route, I am already looking at a pay cut to do something I want to do more than my current job, but I don't think I could justify quitting my current job and paying out of pocket for tuition and to move to Oroville/Chico temporarily (and also keep a house and kids in school where I am now). If I go to the Warden or SPPO academy, it will be as a cadet on the state's payroll. (There are POST courses in my area, but I don't get the impression that that would be a big help, especially as someone who already vastly exceeds the minimum education requirement).

[Desertdoc]

Ok, fair enough. You do not state your age, and no need to do so, PERSEC, but ballpark it for me. The reason I ask is...

And do not laugh, it is a very viable option, and there is no one better at it.

Maritime LE you say?

USCG.

You get almost everything you are looking for.

Just let it sit there for a sec. and pontificate...