Alberta Government

The position required travel throughout the province's Forest Management Areas for up to 2 weeks at a time. We stayed at fire bases with accommodations provided. The crew size was 3 with one designated leader. A typical day consisted of travel to a remote site usually by truck and then hiking into the site with sampling tools. Data on the topography, soil, vegetation and site characteristics were collected. Sample of trees, soils and vegetation were collected. Shrubbery, grasses and trees were measured and identified as well. Regardless of weather conditions and the difficulty of the topography to navigate the job was enjoyable. The small team dynamic was enjoyable and my colleagues were very knowledgeable. Being away for extended periods of time was the most difficult part of the job for me.

Shift work on twelve hour rotation on Steam plants which operated either electrical generation (turbine and steam engine) to HVAC systems in building. I operated and maintained all aspects of the plant and it's auxiliary systems.  As well I had started to be involved in working with multiple trades and coordinating their tasks with in my scope of the plant(s). I enjoyed the learning process of these systems by the men and women who mentored me.  The challenge of accumulating knowledge of such a vast range of topics, with being tested on these systems as I was learning could be a bit unnerving ( starting a steam plant after a lightning strike for instance)

My day had always started off before the staff had come in, get a cup of coffee and set my work in priority for the day and start (no phones ringing yet, get more accomplished).  In the afternoon I would make my staff a tea and sit around and connect with them.  Very valuable lesson to be learned when in a group, great discussions and solutions had occurred.  The staff had ownership of their job.  When my staff succeeded it was rewarding to myself, even if they were promoted to another department, it had reflected upon me in a positive way.

*Challenging work; always learning new things and ways of working
*Work/Life Balance excellent
*Stressful; need to always practice and maintain good self-care
*Jobs/positions not as secure as used to be
*Management may lack formal training/education/experience/skills in supervising and managing employees effectively
*Employees who have little/no other/outside experience of government can be challenging to work with, may struggle with change, can have a sense of entitlement with job position and lack overall commitment to the job and their teams.

Working in the Public Sector for so long I have almost forgotten the years I work in the Private Sector, but for 38 years my day was hectic, I learned how to prioritize my work load, and ensure deadlines were met.  My co-workers were hard workers, fun and team players.  The hardest part of the job was the constant changes that come with government but the most enjoyable part was helping the public, learning various aspects about my job and having fun.

A typical day at work was a day of hard work. Usually, we do jobs regarding forestry (such as tree planting, trail clearing, fire-smarting etc).  During this time, I learned stress-management skills, collaboration skills, as well as how to adapt to my surroundings (depending on the environment). While at work, we learned the real-life skills needed for everyday life, as well as survival skills. 
Certifications were covered, and the benefits of working for the government were high.

My job is amazing because our Management really want to push boundaries in Innovation, and there's no boring day as I learn from others everyday.   We are also equipped with the recent GIS software's, and have training opportunities. 
Becareful on other Ministries,  I have experience that some have poor management and GIS is not really widely understand discipline so you can be stuck on doing boring data update work or mapping request.

A job that had a lot of responsibility looking after multiple buildings and grounds. Had to know or learn about a lot of different things. Taught myself to operate the BMCS (building operating system) for the area. Looked after the operating of the buildings as well as the plumbing for the area.

Overall great place to work with great benefits. Can be difficult to transition from administrative position to management position or developmental role of any kind.  Once you are deemed administrative it is very difficult to be considered for any other role or advancement opportunities no matter how much education or experience  you have.

This summer i learned lots of interesting things, and life experience. Everyday was different and very fun. The group of girls i worked with were amazing, and i had the best time with them. This is a summer i will never forget. The Junior Forest Ranger program is amazing and i would recommend it to anyone.

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