Foresters
Manage public and private forested lands for economic, recreational, and conservation purposes. May inventory the type, amount, and location of standing timber, appraise the timber's worth, negotiate the purchase, and draw up contracts for procurement. May determine how to conserve wildlife habitats, creek beds, water quality, and soil stability, and how best to comply with environmental regulations. May devise plans for planting and growing new trees, monitor trees for healthy growth, and determine optimal harvesting schedules.
- Median pay
- $76,400
- Doing it now
- 13,200
- By 2035
- Up 2.2%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Monitor contract compliance and results of forestry activities to assure adherence to government regulations.
- Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.
- Supervise activities of other forestry workers.
- Choose and prepare sites for new trees, using controlled burning, bulldozers, or herbicides to clear weeds, brush, and logging debris.
- Plan and supervise forestry projects, such as determining the type, number and placement of trees to be planted, managing tree nurseries, thinning forest and monitoring growth of new seedlings.
- Negotiate terms and conditions of agreements and contracts for forest harvesting, forest management and leasing of forest lands.
- Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Natural Resources Conservation and ResearchSee 826 colleges that teach it
- Environmental/Natural Resources Management and PolicySee 99 colleges that teach it
- ForestrySee 58 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Analytical and curious
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $76,400 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.