Ct Arborist License

[fishercat]

i got no issue with you MDS.

Not really sure if its legal, but it seems to satisfy the competition (working under the ex's licence that is) and the DEP.

Not really relevant sinse it runs out in january due to lack of ceu's anyway.

Besides mds answers to the tree gods anyway.

But yeah, I gotta get studying.

i know you know what you're doing.it's the landscrapers renting out a license # from some so called arborist that is never on site,he just gets a check every month.that is BS and defeats the purpose of regulation.

 

[fishercat]

Brookfield is a nice area.

What part of CT are you guys from?

I grew up in Brookfield though am now living in California. Looking forward to visiting some family back there over Christmas. Man, I bet it's cold!

a little too crowded for me.

i'm east of Hartford.right across the river in Glastonbury.

 

[UCWill]

Hello Gentlemen,
I just passed the last part of the CT Arborist Exam two weeks ago. Yes, It was a bear. I passed it on the first try, sort of. I passed the written and Tree ID but got a 65 on the oral. I passed to oral with an 88 on my "retake". I have some pointers, study materials and moral support for any who need it. I'm located in Columbia, CT. I also passed the Custom Grounds Supervisory Ornamental & Turf back in March and could help anyone interested in that one as well if interested.
What I can tell you is that the oral is purely a crap shoot. They can ask you virtually anything. This is the reason that alot of people don't pass the first time. I had questions and examiners that were impossible on the first try and very practical and reasonable on the second. One of the examiners told me that 90% pass the Tree ID but less than 50% pass the oral. I didn't hear any figures on the written.
I am happy to share more if anyone feels they can benefit from my recent experience with the test.

 

[Tree Pig]

Hello Gentlemen,
I just passed the last part of the CT Arborist Exam two weeks ago. Yes, It was a bear. I passed it on the first try, sort of. I passed the written and Tree ID but got a 65 on the oral. I passed to oral with an 88 on my "retake". I have some pointers, study materials and moral support for any who need it. I'm located in Columbia, CT. I also passed the Custom Grounds Supervisory Ornamental & Turf back in March and could help anyone interested in that one as well if interested.
What I can tell you is that the oral is purely a crap shoot. They can ask you virtually anything. This is the reason that alot of people don't pass the first time. I had questions and examiners that were impossible on the first try and very practical and reasonable on the second. One of the examiners told me that 90% pass the Tree ID but less than 50% pass the oral. I didn't hear any figures on the written.
I am happy to share more if anyone feels they can benefit from my recent experience with the test.

Welcome to AS man good to have another Ct person around. My first question is what did you do to prepare, study on your own or did you take the 101 course? Oh yeah and thanks for the reply by the way.

 

[Tree Pig]

I can use all the pointers you have to offer, and may be interested in study material if you are willing to part with it at a decent price.

 

[UCWill]

Thanks,
I took Arboriculture 101 back in 2001 when I first thought about obtaining the license. Overall, I think its good since the fee includes most of the study materials you'll need and then some. This includes the ANSI specs which can get expensive.
This course is put on by CTPA which is sort of an "old boys network". I come more from the planting side of things versus climbing in trees. They tend to look down on people not swinging from branches (my opinion and a few others).
I mostly studied on my own. Most people ace the Safety on the written, which is the Core manual stuff(mostly common sense). The tree ID is also not usually what gets people. The arboriculture on the written and the oral were the two most difficult for me. The written is an old test, at least 20 years old from what DEP staff tells me.
They ask you about pesticides and issues from 20 years ago. Pretty odd.

 

[fishercat]

interesting.

Hello Gentlemen,
I just passed the last part of the CT Arborist Exam two weeks ago. Yes, It was a bear. I passed it on the first try, sort of. I passed the written and Tree ID but got a 65 on the oral. I passed to oral with an 88 on my "retake". I have some pointers, study materials and moral support for any who need it. I'm located in Columbia, CT. I also passed the Custom Grounds Supervisory Ornamental & Turf back in March and could help anyone interested in that one as well if interested.
What I can tell you is that the oral is purely a crap shoot. They can ask you virtually anything. This is the reason that alot of people don't pass the first time. I had questions and examiners that were impossible on the first try and very practical and reasonable on the second. One of the examiners told me that 90% pass the Tree ID but less than 50% pass the oral. I didn't hear any figures on the written.
I am happy to share more if anyone feels they can benefit from my recent experience with the test.

i have heard those figures as well.did they charge you again for the retake? a trick to raise revenue would not surprise me with these clowns.

 

[UCWill]

No charge for retake. However, you are right. The governor doubled the fees for professional licensing. The exam cost $25 when I started the process in March. It's now $50.
Also I believe the license registration is now double. Not sure what it was before.

 

[fishercat]

nice of them ain't it?

No charge for retake. However, you are right. The governor doubled the fees for professional licensing. The exam cost $25 when I started the process in March. It's now $50.
Also I believe the license registration is now double. Not sure what it was before.

Congrats on getting your license.i am in Glastonbury and i am out your way often.i'd like to get together sometime and gets some pointers or advice.if you ever need a hand let me know.i can PM you my cell if you like.

 

[UCWill]

I would be happy to meet you for a cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts most anytime as long as its not snowing.
Bill 860-303-5070 cell

 

[fishercat]

i'll buy you all the coffee you want.

I would be happy to meet you for a cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts most anytime as long as its not snowing.
Bill 860-303-5070 cell

if it's snowing,i'll pick you up.

my cell is 860-916-3290 Steve

 

[UCWill]

If its snowing, I may be a plow pilot. That's what I meant by that.

 

[ALPINE TREE CO.]

What you get out of the class depends on what you put in. Each week the class is taught by different people that have been in the industry for a long time. The knowledge that you can get just by talking to these guys is unlimited. You can also make a lot of good contacts and gain access to resources. The only part of the class that i didn't like was the drive, other than that I learned a lot of things that i didn't learn from reading the materials. As far as taking the test i cant help you out, I got sick of the cold and rain and sold my company and moved to Phoenix, AZ before i got a chance to take the test. I used to be out of Ellington NE of Hartford

 

[Tree Pig]

What you get out of the class depends on what you put in. Each week the class is taught by different people that have been in the industry for a long time. The knowledge that you can get just by talking to these guys is unlimited. You can also make a lot of good contacts and gain access to resources. The only part of the class that i didn't like was the drive, other than that I learned a lot of things that i didn't learn from reading the materials. As far as taking the test i cant help you out, I got sick of the cold and rain and sold my company and moved to Phoenix, AZ before i got a chance to take the test. I used to be out of Ellington NE of Hartford

You didnt live on 286 there did you. Guy there had a big chipper and trucks and all but slowly its all been gone.

 

[Tree Pig]

Steve the class starts 1-10 lets go man you can drive.

 

[UCWill]

Agreed.
As with any class, you reap what you sow in terms of benefit to you. However, let's not make this class out to be something that it's not. My feeling is that if you take the class and he tells you that most people don't pass on the first try; that's a failure of the teaching curriculum as much as lack of study on the part of the candidates.
The DEP study course for Ornamental and Turf tells you the same thing about pass rates. Are they proud of this? Having taken both of these exams within the past year, I can tell you that both are outdated and lacking parallel with Arboriculture 101 (albeit circa 2001) and the prep course for O&T in East Haven.
Most of the people in these courses seemed clueless and intimidated by the exam. Not exactly a good frame of mind to pass.

 

[ALPINE TREE CO.]

You also have to take into consideration the amount of things that they are trying to teach you in a once a week 10 week class. The class is just meant to outline whats on the test and briefly touch on each thing.

I think your talking about Warwick, he had the big 10 wheel yellow monster bucket truck? I used to be around the corner on lower butcher rd and windermere ave. I sold it about a year and a half ago. where are you out of? what company are you with?

 

[UCWill]

With all due respect, Alpine Tree.
It sounds as if you took the course but not the test. What insight do you offer about the class and its relevance to the CT DEP Arborist examination?

 

[ALPINE TREE CO.]

like I said, I never took the test. I did take the class and learned a lot that I used in my day to day work. If I could go back I would take it again.

 

[treemandan]

Let me see if I got this right.
In Ct you don't have to have a license if you only do takedowns but if you trim a tree you need to have a license? Is this enforced?