Awareness of a country’s natural resources is a significant step in having a well-established and well-managed system for these benefits. Natural bounties such as forests should be handled well to sustain and provide for the present and future generations needs. In addition, well-managed natural resources benefit other habitant species and prevent future adverse environmental consequences.

The administration, seeding, and nurturing of the woods is referred to as forestry. This science is very broad in scope, covering everyone from hardworking foresters who are in charge of the overall operation to academic researchers and conservationists who work together to preserve and protect our great woodlands.

Requirements

The broad scope of jobs within this industry at the state level is defined through stated specific requirements of those who wish to pursue a career in this industry. An individual’s completed educational achievement will greatly determine which forestry jobs would be open to them. Listed below are a few of the general job categories.

• Entry Positions (Level 1) – Individuals at this job-skill ranking are required to have at least a high school education or preferably a two-year Associate’s Degree. The available employment here is considered to be manual labor positions and is compensated at an hourly rate. Employees at this classification could be in lumber yards cutting lumber, equipment operators of trucks, or handlers of raw timber and other more labor-intensive tasks as compared to the other categories.

• Professional Foresters (Level 2) – Generally this category is composed of individuals who have completed a four-year degree in college or in some states, have a degree as a professional forester. Jobs available at this stage include timber crop management, wildlife management, timber-land supervisors, etc.

• Forestry Specialists (Level 3) – A career at this category requires advanced degrees in college that will enable the person to teach in universities, do research, and other specialized work such as genetics, plant pathology, wood technology, hydrology and ecology.

Job Categories

The three main forestry occupational categories are as follows.

• Government – This category includes individuals who work and manage timber-lands, parks, and other public property lands for the state or federal government. They also relate to private landowners in order to manage and protect lands which are not part of the public domain.

• Industrial - This category contains those who work for private industry and are paid by their employers to procure timber for business purposes. Their tasks include timber cruising; appraising; sub-contracting and dealing with landowner requirements; getting clearance from State or Federal bureaus; and complying with the specifications of the local environmental agencies.

• Consultants – This particular category dwells more on research and supervision. They plan and monitor how to best grow new trees free from harmful insects and other diseases. This includes choosing the best site and preparing the planting site and giving expert advice as to which type and volume of tree can be planted at a particular location. They may also offer consulting services to help businesses increase their revenues.

Specialized Tools and Equipment

Unsurprisingly, specialized tools and equipment have been designed to help workers in this industry. This equipment covers a broad spectrum from simple to very sophisticated tools. Simple tools would include: clinometers, diameter tapes, bark gauges, and increment borers. Remote sensing and a photogrammetric are examples of sophisticated tools that are used to take aerial photographs for mapping and understanding widespread trends in the woods. Trucks are also specialized equipment that could include such forestry trucks as: bucket trucks, grapple trucks, tree spade trucks and log trucks.

Having a summary of jobs in this industry will hopefully help anyone interested in the careers possible in this business. Whatever decision is made, know that forestry jobs are always exciting and challenging!