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Forestry Technicians Job Overview

Forestry technicians gather information on the condition of forest land. They also collect data on the contents of the forest and the size of the forest. They assess, maintain and inventory the forest’s conditions. They also make observations, record relevant results and draw conclusions.

Forestry Technicians Schools and Degrees

Forestry technicians who have no college education start as trainees under the guidance and supervision of experienced technicians. It is only after working for two years under such supervision that they qualify to earn a two-year degree in technology.

Job Requirements

Training in this vocation is important. The training of forestry technicians generally includes an education in surveying land, management of wild life and logging.

Experience and training helps a forestry technician get promoted to positions of greater responsibility. The wages of forestry technicians increase with responsibility and experience. Further education enhances the career of forestry technicians.

It is important for a person who wishes to become a forestry technician to want to work in close connection with nature. They are also required to have a sharp eye for detail and an ability to work with a team and alone. Communication skills, interpersonal relation management and organizational skills are therefore very important.

Nature of Work

Forestry technicians usually work under the supervision of a forester. Their job is comprised of keeping an eye on harvesting operations, looking after timber measurements, helping in operations of road construction and in discovering the features of the property. They also collect data on the number of trees present, and the mortality rate of tree sapling. Forestry technicians collected information about the diseases and the damage caused by insects. They also investigate the situations and conditions that may lead to forest fires. They also help to lead and train conservation workers in activities like planting saplings and looking after facilities for recreation.

Conditions in which forestry technicians work differ depending on the kind of work they do. Forestry technicians sometimes have to travel into the forest area. They have to work for about forty hours a week, but the nature of their work often makes their hours very irregular. It also varies according to the season.

Forestry Technicians Jobs and Outlook

There were about 34,000 forestry technicians in the U.S. in 2006. Projections show that the demand for forestry professionals will remain the same in the next ten years.

The mean hourly wage for forestry technicians in the US is about $14.83, while the mean annual wages are around $40,534, according to Federal government statistics in 2007.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 13,000 forestry professionals can be found working in the US. A very low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 3%.

Area Job Conditions

Finding employees is easiest in Redding (California), Duluth (Minnesota), and Eugene (Oregon), and by comparison more challenging in Washington (District of Columbia), Denver (Colorado), and Chicago (Illinois).

The pay is best in Washington (District of Columbia), Sacramento (California), and Redding (California) and worst in Knoxville (Tennessee), Little Rock (Arkansas), and Chattanooga (Tennessee).

Training and Education

You'll generally want a bachelor's degree for this career path. Of current forestry professionals, 86% graduated from college with degrees. Some 14% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Forestry professionals working part-time accounted for 5% of those employed in 2008. Self-employed workers represent an estimated 4% of the total.

Forestry Professionals by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

District of Columbia

Florida

Illinois

Minnesota

Mississippi

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin