Unit 7 - Careers in Forestry


Lesson 3: Connecting To An Occupation

In light of your personal considerations in the previous part, you may have narrowed your realm of possibilities in making a career choice. You should keep in mind that you need not have a forestry background to enjoy a career that is related to forest research and development.

Keep in mind, there are hurdles to overcome to successfully enter any career. You have to obtain the necessary skills and finances in most cases. For example, to become a forest technician, you may have to take a related education program at a university or approved college. During your studies, you have to finance your living costs and your school costs.

Any choice you make is tentative. It is perfectly natural to change your mind as you progress through school and life, thereby gaining new information and developing new interests.

 

Image Source: Pixabay

There will always be new opportunities and many new doors
for you to open.

"The Boreal Forest is Where I Want to Be"

"The Lesser Slave Forest Education Society" has produced an informative video on career opportunities in the boreal forest.



It is also important to look at some of the statistics when thinking of a career in forestry.
The following information is provided by the Alberta Forest Products Association and Inside Education:
  • Approximately 40,000 Albertans are employed in forestry.
  • More than 500 companies in Alberta make value-added wood products.
  • The average hourly wage for jobs in forestry is between $33–$47.
  • Forestry generates over $8 billion annual revenue for Alberta’s economy.
  • Forestry is the 3rd largest industry in Alberta.
  • Over 2 billion trees have been planted in Alberta over the last 20 years.
From these statistics, we can see how important forestry is in Alberta and how it can provide all kinds of opportunities for jobs and careers.


There are many careers in forestry that you may not have though about before.

For example, you might have an interest in our forests, but your plans are to be an administrative assistant. Did you think about looking at a career as an administrative assistant in the forestry sector?

Career Profiles

Work Wild is a campaign sponsored by the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) and the Forest Resource Improvement Association (FRIAA) that encourages people to consider careers in the forest industry. Their website outlines six different fields of forestry related careers:

  • Engineering
  • Forestry
  • Office
  • Operations
  • Science
  • Trades
You can explore forestry careers, in these six different areas; click here. On the same page, you may also want to take the career quiz to find a forestry career that suits you.
You can also explore more careers in forestry by reading Inside Education's Forest Career Guide.


Image Source: Pixabay

Hopefully this section has opened up a variety of careers that you had not thought of before and maybe there will be something that interests you!

If so, you might want to look at the following websites that have job opportunities in the forest sector.