I'll throw my 2 cents in because, while I'm lucky enough to be employed in my field, I've been trying to find a new position closer to home for over a year now, and it's pretty frustrating. This advice basically comes from my own regrets of wishing I had done more at my current position. From what I've gathered about you from this thread is that you have the desire and education background to become a park ranger. But a lack of experience combined with a lousy job market hasn't netted you that dream job yet. But you have your foot in the door, albeit working in maintenance isn't ideal, you are working at a ranger stations of some sort. I would try to be more pro-active at your current job. When you have your sit-down with your boss, be honest. Tell them your heart isn't in it right now, but you have an idea on how to change it. Tell him/her that you'd like to volunteer maybe 10 hours per week by job-shadowing a park ranger at your office. Tell him/her that doing more relevant work will make you happier and you'll take more pride in your job. Sounds like you work some nights, so maybe you can fit an extra 5-10 hours of work into your week while finding out more about the dream job your after. This will look great to potential employers - that you took a crappy maintenance job just to gain a little more experience in your field of interest. Plus, working side-by-side with another ranger might earn you a great reference letter!