Brandon,
It is true that there are more foresters than jobs. With this being said you need to work harder than others not only in school, but summer work. The guys in school when i went back to grad school would not even interview to fill all availible internships w/ Rayoneir when they came. When i was looking for an internship i had to compete for the two or three slots and did not get one (got another, better in my opinion job as an intern on a 49,000 acre quail plantion working with the forester) The most recent guys seemed lazy and un motivated, undoubtably these are those percentage that never "find" forestry jobs or just don't go to work in the forestry profession. Each time i looked for a job or internship there was always only 1 offer, and i took each one. Moving is a key, luckily i have just hopped around my state but if needed i whould have moved. Our state agency (forestry commission) receives lots of turnover in employees either from them moving on, up in their agency or from retirements. The latter seems to be the most common, and then the guys shuffle around when a vacancy opens to try and get closer to back home. The foresters who work for the state will never be rich or poor but will be comfortable in life. A lot of guys were project foresters for the state out of school or after a year or two. The fed system pays more but is also very had to get into. You will most likely have to start at a tecnition before you get a professional forester slot if you go that route and it may never happen due to the hiring hoops that they have to jump through. I have been out of undergrad school for three years now, in that time i worked as a contracted intern forester for the army for 16 months, went back to school and got my masters (MFR) and have been employed as a training professional forester for 8 months now w/ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah district. I do contract administration for the timber sales on the lake here (~70,000 acres) and two military bases that total over 110,000 acres and i manage a small air base for the USAF. Money is tough right now but all the bills are paid with a little money left over but not much. Going to school put me back about 1-2 years as far as progression had i started this job 1.5 yrs ago, but then agin had i not got my masters i might not have gotten this job.
Most foresters may be tight for 1-3 years around here, weather they move off then back in this time or stay around and do what they can untill that job with the state or a consultant or company pays off. But this seems to be the time frame for the ones that did not get a professional forester job right out of school or ones that took professional forester jobs w/other states to get back home. Like i said SC does not pays its state foresters to get rich but they all seem to like their jobs and i don't know of any that have left thier jobs that have them that i went to school with, all seem happy with their jobs.
As far as the feds go, i feel extremly blessed in my career and being hired into the federal system as a professional forester so young. I beleive that it is due to my dedication to the field and my hard work in (graduated 2nd in class w/honors) and out of school. I think but and not sure that i got the 1 federal forester job that was hired externally in our state last year. I from time to time looked and while in school would get emails notifying us of a job but never saw any others, so for that i feel good. I also only know 2 others that i had gone to school with who work for some branch of the federal system, neither of them graduated in my class (~25-35 people), but after me. I applied for state a forester job but none would wait untill my graduation for me so they had to pass even though i feel confident that they would have hired me had i been availible at the time!
Congradulations Riles on your acheivement also!! Job well done.
