Foresters: What's Your Job Really Like?

[OlympicYJ]

Wowzers- Looking forward to hearing from you. I have a few more vet friends in college with the same interests as me. Every time we get to having a few beers, the conversation always gets to "what job would you do right now if you weren't in school?" Seems like roughneck, logger, and bounty hunter always come up. A while ago I thought I thought about getting into a carpentry apprenticeship, but decided to take a few classes at CC to learn some skills instead. A few credits count as my elective, the others may not count for anything when I transfer and it may 'waste' GI Bill tuition, but I've had a real good time learning and building, and it breaks up the monotony of the class schedule.

Wow. Lots of good information here.
I'm on track for the Gen.Ed AA right now but will sit down with an advsior before I actually declare a major next year. I haven't even thought about a minor yet but will definitely keep that in mind. Internships seem to be important across the board for any college grad, too.
As far as what specialty I want, I'll keep my eyes and ears open and listen to you all talk about your different jobs to give me an idea about what I might like to do.

By the way, all this talk about dip makes me want to crack open a can of fresh cope but I quit that little while ago and can't bear to get off the wagon!

Sounds like you've got a good plan going! That's the way to do it. Things are just now starting to pick up a little. Should be some good posts in the upcoming months. I'll try the best I can to post up interesting operations stuff if I get any as I'm sure is the same for others.

Stay on the bandwagon for sure! I'm trying to slowly quit myself so I know what ya mean! I'll just enjoy one for ya here lol

Wes

 

[StihlKiwi]

Whats the go with the 2 and four year degrees? I did a four year bachelors, the only option at uni here, and it covered all of the bases reasonably well. Is the two year education just the basics, or do you simply focus on one specific part of forestry?

 

[OlympicYJ]

There are two options really. An AA is an Associates of Arts. Basicaly half a Bachelors of Arts. But yes an AA basically covers the first two years of A Bachelors degree. You can get an AAS or Associates of Applied Sciences in forestry otherwise known as a technical degree. A person such as myself that has one of these is known as a forest technician and is mostly now days only qualified for field type work as opposed to making actual management decisions. They were quite popular back before and after the 60's but I'd say 70's till now were falling in favor of 4 year Bachelors degrees in forest management.

For higher level jobs it's still a BS in forestry and to move way higher include an MBA in there. Tech degrees are becoming popular again as for field work people are realizing a Bachelors is overkill. If you have a Tech degree and a BS you are generally a more favorable hire because you have a better technical background than someone coming strait out of a 4yr degree program start to finish.

Wes

 

[StihlKiwi]

There are two options really. An AA is an Associates of Arts. Basicaly half a Bachelors of Arts. But yes an AA basically covers the first two years of A Bachelors degree. You can get an AAS or Associates of Applied Sciences in forestry otherwise known as a technical degree. A person such as myself that has one of these is known as a forest technician and is mostly now days only qualified for field type work as opposed to making actual management decisions. They were quite popular back before and after the 60's but I'd say 70's till now were falling in favor of 4 year Bachelors degrees in forest management.

For higher level jobs it's still a BS in forestry and to move way higher include an MBA in there. Tech degrees are becoming popular again as for field work people are realizing a Bachelors is overkill. If you have a Tech degree and a BS you are generally a more favorable hire because you have a better technical background than someone coming strait out of a 4yr degree program start to finish.

Wes

Thanks for that.
From what you've said there I get the impression you can go through the four year degree with no real world experience required, which seems less than desirable from an employers perspective.
The degree I did is a BForSc, as opposed to a regular 3 year BSc. Because it's a 'professional' degree, and the school of Forestry was under the umbrella of the College of Engineering we had to do a minimum of 90 days work experience within the industry as a requirement to graduate. I reckon it was one of the most important parts of the course.

 

[Trx250r180]

First off. Thank you for your service!!!

Bob thanks for the kudos, I'm a bit late to the party so most of what I'm gonna be contributing are some probably not so hilarious quips and observations as allot of the major stuff has been covered.



Hey 7-11 works but Safeway has better selection.... I won't have the luxury of any of that as I found out yesterday I will be in Beaver just north of Forks instead of Port Angeles. Oh well I'm still happy and less distractions to blow money on. Be right by the mill/office on Lake Pleasant :msp_biggrin:

you will be driving right by my work by the sounds of it ,small world

 

[OlympicYJ]

Thanks for that.
From what you've said there I get the impression you can go through the four year degree with no real world experience required, which seems less than desirable from an employers perspective.
The degree I did is a BForSc, as opposed to a regular 3 year BSc. Because it's a 'professional' degree, and the school of Forestry was under the umbrella of the College of Engineering we had to do a minimum of 90 days work experience within the industry as a requirement to graduate. I reckon it was one of the most important parts of the course.

No problem! Now that would be awesome if 4yrs here did that! I had to do 250 hrs minimum for my 2yr tech degree. After this summer I'll have 4 internships under my belt so theoretically a full years worth of experience by the time I graduate.

you will be driving right by my work by the sounds of it ,small world

Well it might be even smaller than you think cause I'ma guess that you work in the Beaver mill?

 

[Trx250r180]

No problem! Now that would be awesome if 4yrs here did that! I had to do 250 hrs minimum for my 2yr tech degree. After this summer I'll have 4 internships under my belt so theoretically a full years worth of experience by the time I graduate.



Well it might be even smaller than you think cause I'ma guess that you work in the Beaver mill?

,i actually have an auto salvage yard west of port angeles ,you will be driving right by my place on 101 on your way to beaver

 

[OlympicYJ]

Ah gotcha. Was thinkin farther south! I might have to drop by and peruse through!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Twindad]

I'm not sure that I have a lot of new information to add that hasn't been covered yet, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. First of all, thank you for you service to our nation. It definitely sounds as if you have your priorities straight. Finish your education and gain as much and as diverse experience as you can. Any skills you can pick up now may prove valuable down the road.
I'm a forester on the land management side, and I love my job. I can honestly say that there are very few times when I'm doing the same thing on two consecutive days. Prescribed fire, timber cruising, sale admin, reforestation, rec development, wildlife habitat improvement, research, educational tours, and far too much more to list here. There's office work involved, but I usually have the flexibility to do it during crappy weather.
I got into forestry because I love the outdoors. I also took advantage of the GI Bill and it got me where I am today. Good luck.

 

[Matt59]

First of all, thank you for you service to our nation.

Thank you for yours as well.

 

[wowzers]

If I was you I would look at Haywood Community College in Western NC. If you're unable to relocate I believe there is another tech school in Allegheny MD. However Haywood is SAF accredited which makes a quite a bit of difference when you get out in job land. Unfortunately as much as it pains me to say it, I would then look at finishing your bachelors at a four year school. Most any private company now is requiring a BS. It will definitely suck for you because tech school will put you far ahead of most junior level bachelors student but it will be worth it in the end. I

I'm not sure of your desired career direction but I'll echo the statement that internships will define your career direction. I came out west with the idea of getting on a wildland fire crew. My western career path couldn't be farther from that. I still get out to the woods a fair bit, but I also spend an incredible time screwing around on some sort of excel spreadsheet. I will also say that there are only a few days (single digit temps and chest deep snow) that I don't miss logging!

If you have any questions shoot me a PM.

 

[Matt59]

Wowzers-

I'm going to stay in community college here in MD then transfer to a 4-year for the bachelor's degree. It seems like the best path for me right now. As for careers or specialties, I really only know as much as the helpful people on here have told me, so I'll keep reading and keep working. I will definitely keep on the lookout for internships, too.

 

[Gologit]

Wowzers-

I'm going to stay in community college here in MD then transfer to a 4-year for the bachelor's degree. It seems like the best path for me right now. As for careers or specialties, I really only know as much as the helpful people on here have told me, so I'll keep reading and keep working. I will definitely keep on the lookout for internships, too.

I don't know how far you'd be willing to travel but Sierra Pacific Industries has internships every summer. 2013 is already staffed but it might be something for you to keep in mind.
They have almost 2 million acres of timber land in California alone plus holdings in other states.


Sierra Pacific Industries: Growing Forests for Our Future

 

[wowzers]

I don't know how far you'd be willing to travel but Sierra Pacific Industries has internships every summer. 2013 is already staffed but it might be something for you to keep in mind.
They have almost 2 million acres of timber land in California alone plus holdings in other states.


Sierra Pacific Industries: Growing Forests for Our Future

They hire a pile of people every year. In fact I managed to snag one of their interns for our program this coming season.

 

[Matt59]

hI've been checking out their page. Looks like they have a summer employment opportunity for an assistant wildlife biologist, but it requires college credits in bio, forestry, etc. The wildland fire jobs I was looking at on usajobs also required the same thing, or previous experience. I just landed a summer job with a tree service in NC, though. I'd love to move out west...but a certain young lady has me tied down out here. It's on my "plan b" though, just don't tell her that.

 

[Gologit]

hI've been checking out their page. Looks like they have a summer employment opportunity for an assistant wildlife biologist, but it requires college credits in bio, forestry, etc. The wildland fire jobs I was looking at on usajobs also required the same thing, or previous experience. I just landed a summer job with a tree service in NC, though. I'd love to move out west...but a certain young lady has me tied down out here. It's on my "plan b" though, just don't tell her that.

Okay, we'll keep quiet. :msp_biggrin: SPI usually starts listing their summer jobs and internships well before the first of the year that they're hiring for.

 

[Matt59]

Okay, we'll keep quiet. :msp_biggrin: SPI usually starts listing their summer jobs and internships well before the first of the year that they're hiring for.

If I ever catch her on ArboristSite, there will also be pigs with wings and the devil eating an ice cream cone.

Looks like most of these internships out there require college credits in the field. So they're a no-go for me right now but something to do in 3 years or so.

Anyone on here familiar with the Forest Service's hiring process? Several months ago I applied for a temporary Forestry Tech (Trails) job. I got a message that said my application and documents were recieved, but I haven't heard anything since then. Just wondering if I'm not going to get that job or if budget cuts and red tape are to blame.

 

[slowp]

A phone call to where you applied may be in order.

 

[Matt59]

A phone call to where you applied may be in order.

Gotcha. Now that I think about it, that would have been a good thing to do a month ago at least...Oh well. I'll give them a call tomorrow to check on the status of my application. It won't hurt even though I got this other job today.

 

[OlympicYJ]

They hire a pile of people every year. In fact I managed to snag one of their interns for our program this coming season.

Well you guys snagged two SPI interns! lol Both are good guys. Know one a lil better than the other. We need to get together sometime. Next time I'm up your way I'll have to give ya a call and see if you're home. Got that internship on the west side I told ya about.

If I ever catch her on ArboristSite, there will also be pigs with wings and the devil eating an ice cream cone.

Looks like most of these internships out there require college credits in the field. So they're a no-go for me right now but something to do in 3 years or so.

Not necessarily. Most just require that you are at the very least enrolled in a forestry program. They do however prefer that you do have some forestry related classes.