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In our post Three Reasons to Enter the Forestry Field, we mentioned a few of the jobs available in today’s modern forestry sector. Oregon Forest Resources Institute  (OFRI) has created a series of videos titled “Find Your Path.” The series covers a variety of the types of forestry related jobs that are available. Check out this short video from OFRI which highlights what we would call the traditional or field forester. A field forester is often the closest professional working on the ground to assure a healthy and vibrant forest is growing. Much of their time is spent in the field or “woods” collecting data and information. Developing management plans and identifying need treatments to maintain growth and reaching landowner objectives are some tasks for a field forester. Controlling competing vegetation, pre-commercial or commercial thinning operations are a few examples of treatments a forester may schedule to assure the continued growth of the forest.

Where can you find Field Foresters?

Field foresters can be found in a variety of organizations around the world. In North America field forester cans be found working for large private commercial forest landowners, state and federal land management agencies, tribal timber organizations, private consultants, and non-profits. Foresters work to help these organizations meet their land management goals. Often these goals are to produce a revenue stream for the organization while also contributing to habitat and clean water goals.

Technology for the Field Forester

As seen in the video, technology is rapidly advancing for use by foresters in the field. Handheld computers have been used in the woods for decades, but the ease of taking more advanced tablets/iPads, cell phones, GPS both stand alone and integrated into other devices, and drones into the woods is changing how field foresters get their work done.

4 Traits for Success

There are four traits for success mentioned in the video. Three of these really are critical for nearly any job and the fourth is good for most forest sector jobs.

• Great Communication Skills – The ability to clearly express your ideas and communicate those to your audience is very important. This can be a learned skill with some practice if you feel you are not strong in this area.
• Self Motivation – The ability to be self motivated will help you succeed in many jobs. It is not uncommon in forestry to work in small teams or individually so this is critical to continue moving forward on projects.
• An Eye for Detail – Much of applying forestry skills and knowledge requires attention to detail. Planning, permitting, cruising, all require attention to detail for success.
• Good physical conditioning – A field forester position can be demanding physically. Often foresters are working outside on uneven terrain, sometimes steep ground and in all sorts of weather conditions. Proper physical conditioning is important for safety and our health when working in the field.

This was a brief overview of one type of job in available in the forest products sector. If this intrigues you, be sure to check out our resource page for schools where you can learn more about forestry degrees and careers. Be on the lookout for our next review of one of the “Finding Your Path” videos.

 

 

 

One tip for when you don’t have a lot of work experience

You have found a job that interests you. Succeeded to get the attention of those reviewing resumes and made it to the interview panel. And there you sit, in front of the group of individuals who will pass judgment on your interview.  All sorts of thoughts are running through your head. Can I answer this question? What if they ask me about that? You breeze past the “tell us a little bit about yourself” question and then comes the question. “Please tell us a little about your experience and how it relates to this position.”

You suddenly feel a little stress and fear. You have never done this exact type of job. So how can you answer the question to satisfy those on the panel? We will assume your education and some part of your experience got you to the interview, so here is one tip on how to handle this situation.

  -Relate what you have done to what you are being asked to do-

I know that sounds like an obvious and simple answer but I have seen more than a couple interviews go sideways over this question. Here is an example of what I mean.

A Real World Example

I once served on an interview panel to fill an engineering position, which the desired candidate would have a minimum of 1 to 5 years experience. Experienced forest engineers can be a challenge to find, but we had selected a range of interviewees who each in their own way met the minimum requirements for the job. Then came interview day and the question; “Please tell us a little about your experience and how it relates to this position.” A couple of candidates did not have the specific field experience we were looking for, though they did have work experience that could apply to the job. One candidate did have have something to set himself apart from the others. That something was related and very similar field experience.

The trouble was he did not recognize that and despite the interview panels attempts to get him to make the connection, it never happened. The connection to past work experience, while different used many if not most of the same skills and knowledge we were looking for in the successful candidate. Unfortunately for the interviewee, in the end we selected another applicant for the job.

So my challenge to you as you prepare for your next interview is to dig deep within yourself and look for those related experiences. Perhaps you are or have been a volunteer fire fighter. If so you might look within your training for experience in leadership, how to handle difficult and stressful situations, critical thinking, or situational awareness. Or maybe you had a job in some outdoor recreation field. Can you tie trail design and maintenance work to your degree and in turn to forest roads work as part of an engineering position. Perhaps it was a summer job as a survey crew member where you gained GIS and mapping experience. Look hard for those related skills, it might just that bump you need to get hired.

There are many reasons why you may want to become a forester or enter into the forestry field. Here are three good reasons why you may want to consider a job in forestry. Truthfully, when I entered forestry school, the first one I knew, the third I caught on quickly, but the second required a little learning and time in the field. So if you are considering a career in forestry here are three, but by no means the only, reasons I think you will find it a great career.

1. Get Outdoors: If the idea of working inside a windowless box or even having to stare out the window to get a sense of what the outdoors is like at your job scares you, then forestry might be for. While not every forestry job is centered on working outside, many spend some time or a significant part of the work time on field related outdoor tasks. Most field foresters, those who work closest to the trees and land, usually spend a lot of their time out in the “woods.” This can range from planting trees, measuring tree growth, determining harvesting plans, and a multitude of other outdoor related work. Even as a forester or engineer transitions into roles further from the field into management roles, opportunities to spend time outside exist or can be created. This outdoor work does require some comfort with dealing with adverse weather conditions. Depending on where you work, rain, snow, or heat, can all be conditions you might find yourself working in. Looking back at my career some of my fondest memories include times of working in snowy or rainy conditions. If you enjoy the idea of putting your skills and talents to work in a way that is not solely from behind a desk, then forestry might be for you.

2. Broad career opportunities : Forestry is a very broad topic and can provide an equally broad range of career opportunities. There is so much more than the stereotypical forester walking through the woods measuring trees in his hard hat and cruiser vest. An always very technical field, forestry, has continued to evolve. The forestry profession beyond the traditional forester includes, biometricians, forest engineers, GIS analysts, computer modelers, logging operations, policy analyst, regulatory enforcement, real estate, lumber manufacturing and many more. Many of these are specialized fields within forestry, but most all are enhanced with the basic experience that a field forester gains while implementing their knowledge and skills out in the field early in their career. This is by no means an exhaustive list of areas within forestry or even where you could apply the skills and knowledge from forestry in your future career.

3. Great people: This reason is probably a no brainer, because who would want to work someplace where there were not great people. The forestry profession is full of hard working, big hearted, caring people. Whether it is mentoring a new forester entering the field, donating time to not only professional organizations but also their communities, or helping out with local charities, example after example can be found. After all when you work in a profession that helps to provide the forest products we use everyday in society, including building our homes, how could you not care. Foresters are stewards of a wonderful resource that provides many benefits to society at large. Many of these men and women not only care deeply about the resources in their care but also for the communities they work and live in. You will find youth sports coaches, school board members, scout leaders and volunteer fire fighters as a few examples of how these hard working people contribute to their communities. Additionally, many of those in the profession are willing to serve as mentors to young foresters.
If you are looking for a rewarding and challenging career with opportunities to work outdoors and with great people you might want to consider forestry. We will explore some ways to enter the career field in future posts. Till then, hope to see you in the woods.

Welcome to ForestryjobsHQ!

Today we are launching the first steps in bringing you and the forestry profession a new source of information, ideas, hopefully some humor, and links to jobs in the forestry field.

The field of forestry is very broad and can provide many different opportunities. It is a fascinating and wonderful sector to work in with a broad range of jobs and career paths. As we expand this site we hope to show that vast opportunities out there. So if  you are interested in being an engineer, a field forester, research forester, silviculture, logging or the many other fields within forestry we hope you find this site interesting and helpful. Or maybe you are looking to take that next step in your career in forestry, we plan to provide additional resources to assist you in that growth.

So please check back often or even better yet join our mailing list. By joining we will send you 16 sample interview questions to use in preparing for interviews. Along with those some pointers to consider during an interview.

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Thank you and we look forward to engaging with you in the future.