Seattle, WA although other locations will be considered.

Position Title: USDA Forest Service Social Science Research on Forest Recreation Experiences

Organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Location: Seattle, WA, although other locations will be considered.

Position Overview: Research Project: The fellow will contribute their skills to studies of experiential qualities of forest-based recreation at landscape scales. Spatially explicit trip reports, in which people describe their recreation experiences, will be one of the primary data sources for this research. The fellow will draw on literature in outdoor recreation, visitor use management, data science, and other fields to develop innovative research approaches to answer questions about when, where, and how often different outdoor recreation experiences occur, and their outcomes for people. The fellow will join a team of scientists from the U.S. Forest Service and University of Washington to develop and implement research projects that help inform wildland recreation management.

Learning Objectives: The fellow will have opportunities to strengthen their research skills by engaging in the full cycle of research activities, including developing research questions and methods, reviewing literature, analyzing data, writing publications for peer review, and presenting results to scholarly and managerial audiences.

Mentor: The mentors for this opportunity are Eric White (eric.m.white@usda.gov) and Monika Derrien (monika.derrien@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentors.

Qualifications: The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master’s or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years, or anticipated to be received by 6/30/2025.

Preferred skills:

• Educational background in outdoor recreation management, sociology, leisure studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, or related fields.
• Familiarity with social science theories related to nature-based experiences.
• Experience qualitatively or quantitatively analyzing text-based data.
• Familiarity with programming languages such as R or Python and machine learning techniques for quantitative analysis of text data.
• Ability to troubleshoot, problem-solve, prioritize tasks, and research independently.
• Excellent organizational, teamwork, and communication skills. 
• Excellent writing skills and interest in learning about the development of scholarly publications.

Start/End Dates: January 2025

Salary/Pay: $5,200-$6,700/month

Application Deadline: 1/17/2025 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

How to Apply: Please use the online application to view the full job description as well as how to apply.