Find a Job You Really Want In
Yes, forest products is a great career path. Forest products are the various raw materials that are harvested from forests, as well as the processed goods that are made from them, such as lumber, mushrooms, and pine nuts. Then there are the items made from lumber, such as paper, wooden furniture, and charcoal.
The need for lumber and other items made from wood is unlikely to diminish, which means that conservation, cultivation, and husbandry are also going to gain in importance. Balancing how much is taken helps both the environment and the industry, making it sustainable and lessening the controversial nature of logging.
Having a flourishing forest products industry also requires husbandry and environmental preservation. Keeping forests and logging sustainable is a large part of the business, as well as coming up with the best ways to care for forests and trees for ideal logging and non-timber goods collection.
Here are 18 great jobs in forest products:
10 of the Best Paying Jobs in Forest Products
A lot of the higher-paid positions in this industry are going to be more cerebral and require a college degree. If you’re interested in the science and husbandry of forests and forest products, then several of these jobs should catch your interest.
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Lumber Sales Manager
Average Annual Salary: N/A
A lumber sales manager is in charge of the lumber sales in a region. They have to understand the industry and their market and be good at both talking to customers and making sure that shipments get out on time. If there’s any sort of snag or supply problem, they’re also responsible for addressing it and warning their customers.
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Average Annual Salary: $84,000
This job is focused on the practical aspects of logging. Forest engineers consider the best and most efficient way to get an area logged, all while following local laws, regulations, and safety guidelines. They plan where to set up the equipment so that it’s ergonomic and effective, as well as how to position it safely.
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Average Annual Salary: $61,000
Agronomists typically focus more on traditional agriculture than silviculture, but the principles are the same. They help study and select the optimal soil and climate conditions for the best crop yield.
They’re also involved in making watering as efficient as possible and in planning the distribution of goods so that it doesn’t spoil and gets where it needs to go.
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Average Annual Salary: $50,000
As the title implies, naturalists study nature. Their main duties involve studying organisms and ecosystems and recording how different living things interact with and affect one another. They also help with conservation and educate the public on their findings. This job requires a strong foundation in biology, ecosystems, and fieldwork.
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Average Annual Salary: $80,000
Sawmills are where raw lumber is processed. A sawmill manager is going to be in charge of the entire mill. This means that they’re responsible for the intake of lumber, making sure it’s properly cut and dried, as well as stored and shipped.
Because of the large amount of responsibility, sawmill managers are well compensated and expected to have experience in the industry.
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Average Annual Salary: $69,000
Environmental engineers’ main task is solving environmental issues. They often focus on pollution and the use of natural resources. Sustainability is the goal, so they try to come up with solutions where the planet’s natural resources can be utilized without harming the environment.
This job requires a mix of knowledge of biology, ecology, engineering, and chemistry.
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Average Annual Salary: $81,000
People in this position are most often unutilized in manufacturing. Their focus is on making the processing of goods as efficient, inexpensive, and effective as possible. Therefore, their expertise is needed in the processing of lumber, paper, and other goods that come out of forests.
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Silviculturist
Average Annual Salary: N/A
Silviculture is the science of raising trees for the purpose of harvesting – mainly for lumber. Silviculturists may also raise trees and forests for the purpose of other raw goods, such as oils and maple syrup, but lumber is the most sought-after resource.
How much money you make is going to be heavily dependent on the market, what sort of trees you’re cultivating, and how much land you have.
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Average Annual Salary: $61,000
Wood technologists are experts in wood. Some work in sawmills to determine the best way to cut, dry, and process the wood to create saleable products, such as plywood.
Wood technologists’ expertise is also called on in other areas to determine how wood is best utilized in building and manufacturing, for instance, and what types of wood are optimal for what’s being built.
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Average Annual Salary: $51,000
Forest rangers typically work for the government, either as part of the park service or for a local area. They’re responsible for caring for the forest, reacting to fires, and helping any hikers who might be lost. They also enforce laws, such as hunting regulations and restrictions on burning.
The majority of the above jobs require both a college degree and experience in a related field. Therefore, this is an idea of where a career in forest products could land you. If you’re just looking to get your foot in the door, the below list is a good place to start.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Forest Products
The majority of these jobs don’t require a college education, but if you decide you don’t want to do an extremely physical job, then getting a degree is recommended. Even without a degree, most of these jobs have room for advancement, meaning that this is a good industry to go into if you aren’t interested in getting a four-year degree.
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Average Annual Salary: $28,000
Lumber drivers are responsible for trucking lumber from one place to another. This job requires a commercial driver’s license, as well as being able to do basic maintenance on a truck. Truckers often work long hours getting their shipments where they need to go undamaged and on time.
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Average Annual Salary: $64,000
If you love forestry and natural environments, then this could be the job for you. Foresters are responsible for caring for and safeguarding forests and parks. They will plant trees, collect data on the area, and keep track of when trees are ready for harvest.
They can also be expected to monitor the local wildlife population and help out in an emergency – such as if a hiker goes missing or is injured.
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Average Annual Salary: $35,000
Wildlife technicians are involved in studying wildlife and managing their populations. Their skills are mainly utilized in wildlife reserves, but they can work in hatcheries, fisheries, and parks. Most of their time is spent aiding biologists and other wildlife experts, and, being a technician position, the job requires a lot of fieldwork.
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Average Annual Salary: $41,000
Someone in this position typically works at a sawmill. They sort incoming logs, looking for flaws, such as knots and boules, and decide how it’s best used — Whether they should be ground up to make something else or if they should be dried and cured as a piece of lumber.
Lumber graders also have to be experts in wood grain and be able to tell how the piece of wood should be processed and handled.
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Average Annual Salary: $32,000
Forestry technicians’ main duties are in conservation. They collect and analyze samples to look for any threats to the forest they’re responsible for. Raising public awareness of environmental conservation is a large part of their job as well.
It’s a position that spends a lot of time outdoors and requires coordination with other departments, such as fire and police.
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Average Annual Salary: $45,000
Also called loggers, lumberjacks harvest trees. This is an extremely physical position that involves working outdoors in difficult conditions and utilizing both power and hand tools.
Cutting down trees is dangerous work, meaning that lumberjacks have to be familiar with the types of trees they’re working with and the best way to cut them down safely.
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Average Annual Salary: $32,000
Paper makers process wood pulp into paper. Depending on the type of paper being made, it can involve different chemicals and amounts of pulp fiber and water, as well as how long it takes to dewater, dry, and finish.
Paper makers have to be familiar with the paper-making machines as well as the recipe for the type of paper they’re making and proper handling of chemicals and other materials.
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Average Annual Salary: $55,000
This is a specialized firefighting position. Forest firefighters are experts on forest fires and the best way to contain and extinguish them. They are also expected to be well versed in fire prevention and when forest fires are likely to occur to help them be prepared for a fire breaking out.
Most firefighters are also trained in first aid and other emergency management skills.
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Average Annual Salary: $41,000
Sometimes also called industrial mechanics, millwrights are experts on industrial machinery. They assemble, maintain, repair, and move heavy machinery in factories, processing centers, and power plants. Millwrights typically apprentice in order to learn the skill needed to become fully-fledged millwrights.
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Average Annual Salary: $51,000
This job is exactly what it sounds like. Chainsaw operators use a chainsaw in their work. They can help with felling trees, trimming them, and otherwise preparing the logs to be shipped to the sawmill.
Why Choose a Career in Forest Products?
Despite there being some efforts made to cut down on the amount of paper used, both lumber and paper products are still used daily. Demand for forest products is unlikely to drop dramatically anytime in the near future, meaning that conservation positions are going to become even more important.
If you think a job in the industry sounds intriguing, here are some attributes to consider.
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You like being outdoors. Not every job in forest products is going to keep you outside, but many of them at least involve some fieldwork, if not working outside regularly.
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Seeing the results of your efforts is important to you. This doesn’t apply to quite every career on this list, but the majority of them are going to have some sort of tangible result. Even if it’s just seeing pollution levels go down or getting the lumber cut properly, there will be something to point to at the end of your project.
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You like trees and working with wood. Depending on how much you like trees, it may not be the best career path. But there are conservation jobs in this industry that will help you preserve them. If you like working with wood, then any sort of lumber-related job would heavily involve it.
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You have some interest in conservation. Even the jobs that seem diametrically opposed, such as logging, depend on conservation. If it isn’t regulated and used responsibly, then the supply would dry up, badly hurting the entire industry, not to mention the environment.
This list isn’t exhaustive, of course, and it does vary some depending on exactly what career path you take. However, if the traits listed above describe you, then forest products is a good industry to look into.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Forest Products
Several of the jobs listed here don’t require a college degree to get into, but if you’re looking to get one, here are some suggestions.
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Forestry. This teaches conservation and maintenance of a forest. Good for the majority of careers, such as a forest ranger, forester, or forest technician.
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Agriculture. If you want to be an agronomist or silviculturist.
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Environmental Science. This is good if you want to focus on conservation or the effects on the environment.
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Materials Sciences. This focuses on how materials are used in manufacturing and other projects. Good for a wood technologist or process engineer.
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Biology. This is good if you want to focus on wildlife or forestry. You can specialize as well.
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Ecology, Population Biology, And Epidemiology. This can help with becoming a wildlife technician.
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Chemistry. Most conservation jobs require collecting and testing samples, so a background in chemistry is helpful.
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Engineering. This is a generic degree that can get you into any kind of engineering. Or you can specialize.
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Forest Engineering. if you want to be a forest engineer.
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Environmental Engineering. If you plan to be an environmental engineer.
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The majority of these careers don’t require certifications, though they’re unlikely to hurt your career. However:
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Most millwrights have to be licensed. They have to go through the requisite training to meet the requirements.
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It is recommended to be a licensed EMT to be a firefighter, but not required.
What Do People Working In Forest Products Do?
People working in forest products can work with the raw materials that are harvested from a forest environment, as well as the finished goods made from them. The main resource is lumber, but there are also non-timber forest products. These include maple syrup, wild berries, other native plants, like ginseng, as well as fish and game.
This means that you can work in conservation, husbandry, cultivation, or harvesting. This leads to a lot of different opportunities depending on your inclinations and interests.
Author
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
