crew leader

technician

park ranger

forester

crew member

Great Basin Institute

Worked multiple seasons with GBI as a member and crew lead. 

The work and fellow field members are the best experiences you will have. The organization, management and culture are terrible. The organization is designed to be transient for field workers, with zero upward mobility, no matter what management says. Right time, right place? You might be one of the few that land a permanent position since someone quit. 

The locations, work, and camaraderie will leave you with lasting memories, friendships, and a sense of accomplishment that your work means something. 

You may return from the field to find that your housing is no longer available due to disorganization of management, have a manager lie to your face, or not reply to any form of communication regarding work or personal matters. The only thing of importance for GBI is making sure that an AmeriCorps member completes their contract so the organization gets paid. 

Your safety is directly tied to the people around you, and not the organization unfortunately. “Professional differences of opinions” will arise when management takes on projects above all the capabilities of the company and members, regardless of stated company policies. Those policies will also be subject to change on the whim of management discretion. Most of the management during my tenure had zero experience in this industry or field, and had never worked a field position for the organization. 

The organization will not have funding for anything, except for the C suites to continue taking in six figures a year, and the addition of more managers. 

The entirety of my tenure with GBI there were 3 people in management that made me feel welcome and appreciated. Two no longer work there. 

If you enter into this company and want to gain the experience, knowledge and certifications; keep your head down and learn what you can to take yourself farther in your career and leave GBI in rear view mirror. 


I have worked seasonal research jobs ever since graduating from college. I have also worked as a journalist and as a paraprofessional and professional educator. I have led crews and teams in the field, over harsh terrain, and in inclement weather. During college, I also worked in a pizza kitchen. In this time I have never come across an employer so utterly dispassionate about the wellbeing of their employees. Granted, I speak only for their branch in Oregon, but as crew lead there, I was privy to seeing at least some of their management decisions. They had zero communication with employees unless it was to reprimand them. Their reprimands were often covering up for managerial errors. Leadership was often as clueless as their crews. Training for a four-month season lasted greater than one month, and taught crews virtually nothing required for the season. The leads were offered salaried positions and told they would work 80-hour two-week hitches, then regularly were expected to do > 100-hour hitches without complaint. Safety and communication standards were inconsistent at best, and errors committed by administration or leadership were placed on crews. Crews were expected to keep up with job requirements solely in the realm of project managers, in the field, without reliable internet. 

I had a great experience getting my toes wet in working for the NPS and increased the breadth of my experience working with plants. GBI was supportive when I needed them but largely hands off and allowed me to just work with my local supervisors in day to day work. Out of all my seasonal jobs this one was one of my favorites. I would have preferred to just work for the park directly because the pay is better and you don't have to go through both sets of procedures and policies which sometimes differ, but this seems to be the direction a lot of land management agencies are headed as they are underfunded and unable to pay/easily hire seasonal workers directly. They do have better paid positions through GBI, this one was just AmeriCorps funded, so it was really good for what it was.

You think you are doing beneficial work. And perhaps you are, but you are also not being paid. 

This is not a well run company doing great ecological minded work in the west. This is a group of people not paying college kids or recent graduates and taking advantage of the good in people. 

Extremely disorganized, extremely low pay, no management structure, extremely poor crew leads, no HR aspect to address any actual concerns. 

Entire experience led me to get my PhD and not deal with peons like this "non profit" 

Best aspect of the job was working outdoors in extreme las vegas heat for ten hour days with minimal brakes.

it really depended on the day as to what we were going to be doing. one day we might be fixing or building fence the next we were making a trail in the wilderness by cutting down trees, or we were covering up unused roads. It was always a learning experience everyday whether it was using the tools or hiking around. Management was alright, my supervisor that was always with us, didnt much care for me because i was the only girl on the crew of 6. co-workers were awesome we were always having a great time doing our work. The hardest part of the job was keeping up with the guys but i managed just fine, and the most enjoyable part was being outside in the wilderness.

Your results are heavily going to vary with this company depending on the type of job and location. I did a timber cruising job with the forest service on the Tahoe Forest district. We were trained pretty well for the work, but production was a big focus at this particular station. Compensation is pretty lacking if its an americorps position, but housing is usually included. We worked a 4 day/10 hour schedule, which was honestly pretty great with plenty of free time. Overall it's a great learning opportunity, but permanent work is impossible. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was meeting different people that traveled to this job and being able to explore new places. The management was not the easiest to work with, however. They can never keep someone in the managerial position for over a year because of the amount of work and stress they put the managers in, resulting in them letting out their frustrations with the lower level employees. There needs to be a checks and balances with the higher ups in GBI. 

As a field tech for The Great Basin Institute I worked 8 days in a row with a 6 day weekend. It was often more efficient to sample two plots in one day which sometimes meant 13-14 hour days. We would sample all our planned plots and then some in less than 8 days because of our long hours. This sometimes left us with 7 day work weeks and 7 day weekends. (As a field tech, you are only allowed 40 hours a week).

The volunteers in this company are amazing, and are what makes this work worth it, but the company as a whole is unprofessional, unorganized, and ridiculous. They do not appreciate their volunteers and don’t even let us use our time off half the time which they are required to give us. They mislead you on their website. They made it sound like we would make connections with project partners, but not once did I actually interact with one. 

This is a great Americorps internship for natural science students finishing their studies or those just out of college. Although 90% of the positions are temporary, GBI is a great resume booster due to being recognized and respected by all related government agencies and major firms. This job is meant to be a learning experience and opportunity to serve in a position to better the environment. Pay is not great, however, tuition assistance and alumni status is received at the end of your term.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Crew leader 42 salaries reported	$26.55 per hour
Technician 14 salaries reported	$22.40 per hour
Park ranger 24 salaries reported	$21.92 per hour
Forester 16 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Crew member 18 salaries reported	$21.84 per hour

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