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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.
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Job description
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.
- Procure timber from private landowners.
- Monitor contract compliance and results of forestry activities to assure adherence to government regulations.
- 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.
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Salary
Foresters with little to no experience tend to make between $41350 and $50400 while the more experienced ones can earn over $73550 per year.
| Top 5 paying states | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| DC | $42 | $86,790 |
| CA | $38 | $80,030 |
| MA | $37 | $76,810 |
| NJ | $37 | $76,760 |
| CT | $35 | $72,010 |
One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Forester is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Foresters are DC, CA, MA, NJ and CT.
However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.
Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Forester is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.
Requirements
We asked other Foresters what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by an Associate’s Degree.
Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.
| Natural Resources/Conservation, General |
| Natural Resources Management and Policy |
| Forestry, General |
| Forest Sciences and Biology |
| Forest Management/Forest Resources Management |
Pros and Cons
Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Forester.
| PROS |
|---|
| Suitable for people who likes practical and hands-on work |
| Suitable for people who wants independence and likes to work on their own and make decisions |
| This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors. |
| Good salary (earns more than 50% of the careers out there) |
| CONS |
|---|
| Not suitable for people who likes to work with designs |
| It is hard to get into this career. A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career. |
| Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week) |
What is the job like
85% of Foresters said they were satisfied with their job and 81% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.
Is this right for me
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..
They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
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Related career information
Foresters job description, Foresters salary, Foresters information, what is the job of a Forester like, pros and cons about Foresters, colleges and universities for Foresters, is Foresters the right career for me, careers in Social Science and Humanities
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