For the first time since 2017, the National Park Service will be administering the test for becoming a guide at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Since the 1930 the Park Service has maintained around 150 guides, but currently, that number is around 130.
The test is composed of 180 questions with three essays. It requires an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the Battle of Gettysburg, as well as understanding of the lead-up to the war and the aftermath. There are 6000 acres of the Gettysburg National Military Park which include more than 1300 monuments and memorials. The knowledge required is astonishing. And for those who do pass the test, there is a follow-up interview that evaluates the person’s communication skills along with the geographic knowledge about the park itself.
The candidates are required to give a two-hour mock tour.
To give an idea of the degree of difficulty for this test, of the 97 people who last sat for the test in 2017, only 9 became licensed guides.
One of the guides, Richard Schroeder, became licensed in 2016 after a career as an orthopedic surgeon. He told the Wall Street Journal that it was “as hard—or harder—than getting board certified as an orthopedic surgeon.”
One may think that passing this test would lead to a lucrative career, but it really doesn’t. The job has no pension, no health plan, and no sick leave. If you work consistently, you may make around $50,000 per year.