Competition to become a park ranger reached a new peak this year, the Forestry Bureau said on Tuesday.
After the number of applications nearly doubled from last year, only 9.9 percent of those who applied could be accepted, the bureau said.
In total, 313 hopefuls vied for 31 positions, compared with 178 who tested for 39 open positions last year, it said.
This year’s acceptance rate marked a new low, likely a result of the Executive Yuan’s approval in July of a wage hike for park rangers, the bureau said.
Rangers now earn NT$30,030 to NT$45,045 per month, with opportunities for promotion and a monthly stipend of NT$1,030 to NT$7,210 for people dispatched to remote locations or mountain areas, as well as an additional NT$2,650 per month on average for certain patrol duties, it said.
The average age of the 31 people accepted was 32, ranging from 20 to 57, the bureau said.
Twenty-two of the new recruits (71 percent) received at least a university education, six (19 percent) are Aborigines and seven (23 percent) are women, it added.
The oldest person to pass, 57-year-old Chan Tang-fu (詹棠富), also came out on top among the competition at the Hsinchu Forest District Office.
The marathoner and trail runner said that he hopes to dedicate the rest of his life to the forest and protecting ancient trees from illegal loggers.
After graduating from a forestry program, he spent his younger years running a law office and training center, he said.
However, since retiring about three years ago, he has had time to consider what he wants to do with his newly rediscovered free time, Chan said.
He has been running marathons for more than 20 years, and six or seven years ago began trail running and mountaineering, Chan said.
He has hiked Yuanzui Mountain (鳶嘴山) in Taichung barefoot, Chan said, adding that the feeling of running on a mountain is different from on flat ground, as the beauty moves him every time.
Remembering a friend’s suggestion that he should apply to become a park ranger, Chan thought he should use his remaining years to look after the forest, as it is an intangible asset.
As a ranger, Chan said that his contributions could benefit everyone, making the work meaningful, even though the job can be extremely difficult.
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