Most mountain rescue positions in this country are on a volunteer basis. Many people involved in mountain rescue have primary paying jobs in other fields to make a living. However, there are several job types that can have mountain rescue as a secondary duty to the primary responsibility. Park rangers and sheriff officers are such careers. The primary job of these careers is mostly law enforcement in nature.
Mountain rescue is a small part of the life of rangers and deputies.
The key to getting into such a position is to have years of experience in many fields, including several years as a law enforcement officer, many years of mountaineering, several years of volunteer mountain rescue work, and some experience in emergency medical training. Education can play a very crucial role in landing such jobs. An ideal candidate would have a college or university degree. For rangers, natural science is the key - biology, forestry, geology, etc. For police work, social science is desired as well as psychology.