Recreation and parks management programs prepare people to run parks and other leisure facilities. Students learn about health and safety standards and public relations. They also learn business and marketing skills.

What do you like to do in your free time? This is a common question that we ask people we've just met. This suggests that in many ways, the hobbies we keep define who we are. And nowadays, the kinds of hobbies we can take up are quickly growing in number.

We can glide through the sky like a kite. We can hike through carefully preserved canyons and forests. We can play "beach volleyball" even when it's snowing outside. The possibilities seem endless, don't they?

Recreation and parks officials turn possibilities into reality and develop still other ways for us to enjoy our free time. Park rangers organize the clearing and maintenance of new trails in state and national parks. Innovative recreation specialists design programs to bring communities together and enrich the lives of each member. In order to do so, these people draw upon their management skills.

As a student of recreation and parks management, you learn to supervise the development of projects as well as the people who work on them. You research and analyze existing programs and services. You take courses that teach you to communicate and design programs effectively. You also study the legal and financial aspects of recreation and parks management.

A background in this program of study prepares you for a wide range of careers. You could design recreation programs for specific populations such as children or specific areas such as inner cities. You could publicize the need for restoring national parks. You could develop a new chain of theme parks, even planning the rides and attractions.

Many schools offer programs in recreation and parks management. You can earn an associate, a bachelor's, a master's, or a doctoral degree in this program. An associate degree generally takes two years of full-time study and a bachelor's degree four. A master's degree usually takes between five and six years and a doctoral degree about ten.