I would be very proud of my son if it was me, as I’m sure you are. And I would not be really worried. I mean I worry about my kids all the time, I feel like it’s a full time job. But aside from the regular parental worry I would not be adding any “extracurricular” worry to my worrying activity. Your son sounds like a gem. As a HUGE admirer of the National Parks I thank him for his service.
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I have some similar concerns, Bopambo. My eldest has a job that doesn’t seem to have a lot of opportunity for advancement, and he seems fine with that. However, I calm myself by seeing that he is totally living within his means (even contributing to retirement accounts). With his current salary, he wouldn’t be able to purchase a home, etc. If/when his priorities change, I have faith that he will be able to parlay his talents into something more lucrative. And I just have to ignore the incomes of some of his former classmates!
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I have some friends who are incredibly sad in their late 50s that they feel like they will have to work forever and told me that they wished they had gotten “regular” jobs like dh and myself as we have pensions and they don’t. They lived in some exciting places but now wish they’d chosen state jobs with a good retirement plan.
I always wanted ds1 to be a park ranger. I thought it was a great match for his talents and interests.
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I don’t think a kid who dropped out of college and couldn’t make it work without the bank of mom and dad is at all relevant to the OP. OP’s kid has a degree and his knowledge of geology isn’t in danger of evaporating while he works for the Federal government. OP’s son WILL advance…just not in the near term based on how the NPS is structured.
We all have nephews who failed to launch…mine claims he’s busy becoming a Bitcoin millionaire even though he plays video games all day. But this is not OP’s son… And mine put in his years making big dollars ( and saved much of it) to give himself the gift of a career he loves…
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I agree with your “wants” regarding our kids, meaning we tried to steer them away from some majors/colleges and towards others, for example, and made them aware of impact of the choices. BUT they have final job/career choice. (Note, I did not say final college/major choice. We did say we would not fund certain colleges and majors, which I know many on CC might disagree with). I do not plan on funding a lifestyle kids can’t afford, short of occasional vacations and nice presents, when they fit into our budgets and desires.
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Hi Knear Seattle, Isn’t that the truth! My son’s best friend from college is in the tech world and making 5 times as much as my son. One of his classmates went into the financial sector, I just casually asked if he had ever considered going into finance. He looked at me with a lopsided grin and said, "you know, mom, money is an abstract idea. ". He’s a concrete sort of guy.
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Regarding federal government and salaries/pension, it is true that different locations pay different amounts.
It is also true that people coming into the federal government structure now/more recently don’t get nearly the same benefits as older people did.
OP, if your son can contribute to the federal TSP, please encourage (insist? Even help fund if you need to) the maximum 5% of salary contribution that gets matched. It’s “silly” to “give away” that ROI.
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Here are the current GS pay tables by location. There is a good sized discrepancy in pay between some areas.
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Do I wish my daughter were making more money at 24? Yes. She would earn almost as much at Walmart as she is at her photography job. But she’s happy and thriving, and that’s all that matters. She has enough to rent out a small art studio with her close friend. They’re creating some cool stuff. She just got a grant from the state arts commission to do a project involving artists’ anxiety and perfectionism - she will be soliciting unfinished work from artists. So I’m proud of her for making her way on her own. 
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Yes! It’s so hard not to worry about our kids and compare them to others. But, sometimes people struggle in other ways. We have a family friend’s child who got a great job right out of college and made a ton of money and purchased a house in his 20’s…last month he marked 2 years of being sober. D had a friend who made a lot of money right out of college and was in treatment for depression and some other issues. You don’t always know what’s going on behind the scenes. Yes, some kids may not make a ton of money, but they might be happy and doing well in other areas. Some kids may take a ton of money, but may be dealing with addiction, a death in the family, health problems, mental problems, etc…
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I respect this opinion. And the path your children took is what my hubby and I took. At the moment we regret it but I will admit that the financial security has been really nice too. And we found some ways to enjoy our passions outside of work.
I grew up poor and so my first priority as an adult was to never be poor again. And I/we did achieve that.
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There are a lot of unhappy rich people.
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Both of my children are in fields where they will never make a lot of money. One has serious health concerns to navigate, so we set up savings to help him when he needs that. One does not have any kind of retirement fund from work, so we set up (for both of them) Roth IRAs into which we contribute a small amount each year until they turn 35. I want to stress that we are a very very middle class family.
They don’t really want a house. Their partners have pretty good pay and benefits, which helps. Most important, they love what they do. We had to really embrace that their happiness and satisfaction was worth more than us accumulating a fortune ourselves. So, we help when they need it, on predetermined terms, and it is working out fine.
Also, I have a cousin who is a park ranger in the NPS. it isn’t perfect, but she loves it and she does in fact own a house 
Life is long, and things change. Trust that they can always land on their feet with your help
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Our son is in CS, which was always his dream, and even though he’s in a different part of the industry than he originally planned, it’s worked out well. I’m always in awe of his earnings; he’s not ambitious or could go higher yet. He’s satisfied.
This thread discussed similar concepts. Did you ever suggest your kids should seek degrees that would offer better paying jobs?
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My hubby works with rich people. It’s hard to see when you don’t have money but truly truly money absolutely does not equal happiness. I would make an exception for shelter and food and being able to basically provide for yourself and your family. But beyond that, money brings it’s own problems.
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I think I would try not to project that kind of regrets onto my kid. IMHO.
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Yes, especially given the fact that jobs with stability and pensions are not that plentiful.
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The availability of government jobs with benefits depends on where you are in the country. There are many state and county jobs vacant right now with state retirement and health care, they just may not be where you are located. There are many desperate to hire and know that they have more holes to fill as more folks retire in the coming years.
For the OP, there are many opportunities available in his future. Let him figure this out. Having a masters done in geology and the work experiences he is having now will prepare him for other opportunities. The NPS is part of the Dept of the Interior - plenty of places for him to land when ready:
BUREAUS
OFFICES
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Thank you @MarylandJOE ! Looks like those GS wages UCB posted are the minimum with, as you said, sometimes significant adjustments for higher CoL areas. I didn’t see any wages lower than those in the “general” wage table.
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I have no idea whether they have. 