Where Can Forestry Take Me?
The field of forestry provides a world of opportunities for a rewarding career in natural resources. Here are some types of jobs and paths MSU Forestry alumni have taken.
Sierra Barfield: Forest Management Career Path
MSU alum Sierra Barfield is a forester at forest product company Weyerhaeuser. Barfield's position is at the company's Snow Peak tree farm in Lebanon, Oregon, where she is an early rotation silviculture forester. In her position, Barfield is responsible for replanting a new tree after one has been harvested and managing those newly planted trees.
Anna Boruszewski: Forest Management Career Path
Anna Boruszewski started out as a student assistant for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in Traverse City, Michigan, the summer after she graduated from MSU. Now she is the GIS analyst for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and helps people in the field involved in both agriculture and forestry.
Ray Gurley: Public Policy & Education Career Path
Ray Gurley has had a range of jobs including as a firefighter, conservation district forester and timber program analyst. These experiences and the MSU Forestry progam helped Gurley develop his interests and prepared him for his current position as director of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Policy at the Michigan Forest Products Council. In this role, Gurley advocates for Michigan's largest landowners and fiber sourcing mills and helps develop and affect change in state policy.
Types of Jobs
A bachelor's degree in forestry can lead to many different types of careers, as well as additional education through a master's or doctoral program.
Forest Management
- Field Forester
- Silviculturalist
- Log scaler/grader
- Fire Ecologist
- Forest Health Specialist
- Restoration Forester
- Forest Technician
- Consulting Forester
- Utility Forester
- Procurement Forester
- Sustainability / Certification Auditor
Recreation
- Naturalist / Interpreter
- Park Forestry Specialist
- Natural Resource Specialist
- Park Ecologist
Public Policy & Education
- Forest Economist
- Forest and Environmental Policy Associate
- Outreach/Extension Specialist
- Science Communicator
- Government Relations Manager
Research & STEM
- Forest Ecologist
- Forest Entomologist
- Forest Pathologist
- Forestry Biometrician/Forest Inventory Analyst
- Forest Soil Scientist
Urban Tree Care
- Arborist
- Tree Seedling Nursery Manager
- Tree Care Technician
- Tree Health Specialist
- Utility Forester
- Operations Manager
- Business Leader
Sustainable Bioproducts
- Mass Timber Specialist
- Wood Product Developer
- Wood Product Technician
- Lumber Trader/Broker
- Timberland Appraiser
- Forest Products Entrepreneur
- Business Leader
Sustainability & Climate Change
- Reforestation Specialist
- Forest Hydrologist
- Fire Ecologist
- Forest Carbon Analyst