Considering a career in Forestry.....

[Pullinchips]

Brandon,

No algebra and calculus are not used evry day.  But to get your degree you will have to prove at some point you had a pretty decent understanding of it.  Like ron said statistics and statistical interpretaions are used more with a little algebra every now and then.  Finalcial skills are needed in many sectors of the job.  But it will all depend on what your job is and what your responsibilites are.

Nate

[Phorester]

BRANDON, a College degree is more than just learning how to perform a job.  When I went to college, the first 2-1/2 years were almost all basic knowledge courses. Algebra, physics, statistics, chemistry, biology, literature, foreign language. Dull, dull, dull.  But you need these to form the building blocks toward being able to understand and learn the forestry courses. 

Literature and other English courses help in your basic education to help you interact with people.  This will help getting a job, getting promoted, interacting with people in general throughout your career and your life. Foresters work with people just as much if not more than we do with trees.  The best Foresters understand both and continue to learn about both throughout their lives.

To expand a little on what Tom said, never forget that people are as much a part of nature as the rarest flower or fish.  We evolved on this planet along with every other living thing here.  We need a part in the forests and waters of this planet just as every other animal.  We have evolved to use and manipulate the environment more than any other animal needs to.  Example - to deal with winter, bears learned to hibernate. Humans learned to build houses out of trees and heat them. I don't think it's inaccurate to say that humans depend on the forests of the world more than any other animal on earth.  From boards to chemicals, we cannot live on this planet without cutting trees.  So we need to know how to grow and manage forests for our own survival and quality of life along with all the other animals that make their home there.

Humans also have the intellect and capacity to understand and manage the earth's resources to correct past mistakes and to make the environment better for the future.  That's what Foresters should strive to do in their own career in their own little corner of our world.  Hopefully that's what I'm doing in mine.

A degree in forestry can take you in many directions other than pure forestry if you decide later on that it's not your cup of tea.  But that basic Batchelors degree is the first stepping stone.

[BrandonTN]

Ron, I feel reassured about the calculus thing hearing that you weren't Einstein at it.  I'm willing to tackle it with all I got...though I got a feeling it'll take some effort.  Thanks.

Thanks Pull and Phorester. 
Someone mentioned earlier about being able to graduate w/ a BS in 3 years because of transferring general ed credits...I'll have several, so I might be looking at the same situation, which also makes things look a little brighter. 
And Phorester what you said about the forestry degree leading me to different directions if things turn out to not be in my liking, too, is reassuring.  Thanks.


 

[jon12345]

There are jobs out there ya just gotta find em.  And you never know what you want to get into until you go to do it.  I went to college because originally I wanted to be a forest ranger.  After I got harassed by them a few times I changed my mind.  A few of them are nice understanding guys, but most of the ones I've run into are not so nice, and I don't wanna be 'that guy'.  Now I'm looking for something else. Long story short, is don't get too centered on one thing, and be open to new ideas.

btw, with my associates, I have about 45 forestry/forestry related credits, and about 30 non forestry, not sure about the exact numbers.  The reason I have this many is each of 4 semesters had 16-19 credits, and an extra 8 week, 8 credit 'summer session' that was just like a normal job, it was kind of cool.  2 weeks each, 8 hr days, most of the time spent out 'doin it'  95% hands on.  It was cool bein out in the woods , but then came the dreaded paperwork 

Good luck in whatever you do and if you're ever stuck on somethin, this is almost definitely the place to get your answer, lots of smart guys who know their stuff.

[crtreedude]

Jon,

You bring up a good point - a lot of time a job looks romantic and cool, until you realize what it would be like trying to keep people from burning down a forest because they didn't take the time to know how to take care of a campfire - or that they should cleanup after themselves when they leave.

The first few times are cool - you are agreeable, etc. But, after a while your good naturedness takes a beating - and you want to beat the next idiot with a piece of firewood who doesn't put out his fire correctly.

Working with the public is hard. Those who do and manage to keep their sanity are a rare breed.

Often a good idea is to ask someone who has been doing the job for 10 years what they dislike about it. And then see if you can stand that.

A lot of people get into the software business and then find out about the late nights, working without sleep - INCREDIBLE stress at times - clueless pointy haired bosses who have never coded, bad or non-existant specs, and of course the nerd in the next cubicle who doesn't believe in bathing...

These of course are the things they don't tell you about. All you hear is that the money is good and you get to play with computers. 

[Phorester]

..."and of course the nerd in the next cubicle who doesn't believe in bathing..."

Oh yeah, we haven't talked about Foresters and bathing yet.......

[Riles]

I walked into this Forestry degree program with a bachelor's in electrical engineering and a master's in management. They still built me a 3 year plan. Turns out I was missing onesies and twosies. A second chemistry class, art appreciation, a social science. But the biggest problem to completing the program in two years was the prerequisite string. Since they can't offer every class every quarter, you just can't git 'er done in two calendar years.

That said, they built a two year program for me and said I could ask for waivers and take prerequisite classes simultaneously. As a "non-traditional" student, I get a lot of credit for past experiences and the track record for non-traditional students is very good. It's just easier the second time around. I'm currently in the Botany - Dendrology - Ecology sequence simultaneously and the director of the School of Forestry didn't even look up from his paperwork to sign off on the waiver.

Course you'd better have the grades if you expect to pull it off more than once.

[BrandonTN]

If I do proceed to go to school for forestry, I'll be about 30 years old when I get out of school....how many people have you all known enter the forestry work-force at the age or later?  Riles, it sounds like you got a late start on forestry....are there any kind of handicaps for starting later like I may be doing?  (hope I don't sound like too young of a pup. )

[jon12345]

Your other life and work experience will be a plus when entering the field.

By the looks of things, I'll be entering the forestry field sometime in my 30's and I already have a degree 

[Ron Wenrich]

And how old will you be if you don't go to forestry school?  The answer:  the same age. 

When I was in school, we had several guys who had spent 4 years in the military and some in Vietnam.  One guy was going to med school.  It didn't seem to slow them down any, and they were better students.  They had already gone through the partying stage.   

[SwampDonkey]

If I do proceed to go to school for forestry, I'll be about 30 years old when I get out of school....how many people have you all known enter the forestry work-force at the age or later?  Riles, it sounds like you got a late start on forestry....are there any kind of handicaps for starting later like I may be doing?  (hope I don't sound like too young of a pup. )

When I went to forestry school there was a lady in her 40's and a guy in his mid 50's taking courses.

[Tillaway]

I know a couple that had AS degrees and went back for the BS.  I worked with another that did not start college until he was 30.  Another had a degree in Civil engineering and went back a forestry degree at around 30.  That combination served him very well, he built large sawmill complexes and managed the timber lands that supplied them. 

[BrandonTN]

They had already gone through the partying stage.

  ....let's just say I've done my share.

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

[Riles]

I don't think I have any handicaps starting my forestry degree at age 44. I have a different set of problems that I find easier to address than my younger cohorts. I have to commute 63 miles one way because my wife is still active duty military. I have three kids that will suck up all my time when I walk in the door, so class work gets done at school. I can't stay up late studying anymore because my brain goes to fuzz.

On the other hand, I'm up everyday at 5 am and it doesn't bother me. I've learned the magic of coffee and can now concentrate on the professor in 8 o'clock classes. I don't have money problems or women problems or worry about having laundry done (OK, I never actually WORRIED about that last one in the early days.)

Non-traditional students are more and more common in 4 year universities these days. They do better for all kinds of reasons. Maturity, experience, desire, and the fact that your brain is just wired differently at this age.

If you want to make a good impression on your instructors, here's the best advice: Open your mouth. Confidence is probably the characteristic most missing from the students just out of high school. They want to be invisible and not embarrass themselves in front of their friends. I've had a lifetime of being wrong to protect me from feeling embarrassed. If you at least think before you talk, the professors recognize that you're intelligent and there to learn and treat you accordingly. Talk to each professor at least once after class and demonstrate that you have social skills. This isn't about schmoozing, this is about learning; professors have tons of knowledge they don't put into the lesson plan.

I'm loving this. If I don't spend a day on the job as a professional forester, it's still worth it. It's a great exercise for my brain and redemption for the grades I got the first time through.

[BrandonTN]

Tillaway -- I like what I hear. 

Riles said:
 

I'm loving this. If I don't spend a day on the job as a professional forester, it's still worth it. It's a great exercise for my brain and redemption for the grades I got the first time through.

I hear ya.  My early battles w/ traditional universities were ugly.  I look forward to completing a university w/ a Bachelor's....and like you, if I don't end up working in forestry, big deal.  LIke someone said before in this thread:  I can still use the degree for other things....atleast more open doors.
 

[Pullinchips]

One of my best friends in school would have been around 34 when he went back he graduated at around 37 or 38 and is going to grad school next year and looking at getting his doctorate. Oh he would have been out one year before he goes to get his masters so he is about 38-9 going back. He is also married with three children.  Also another friend was about 34 when finished and i went with several others that were around 27-30 when they finished.

[Riles]

Chips, I would have loved to have gone back to Clemson for this forestry degree, but the commute from Louisiana is just too much!

BS EE '83

[BrandonTN]

Hey, everybody!  I haven't been around in a while.  Just got the net hooked back up at my apartment last week....AND I FIND MYSELF STILL SITTING ONTHE FENCE...EVEN WORSE.  I actually spoke w/ an admissions person at a private liberal arts university here in Nashville today about my future at the school studying English, Creative Writing=another love of mine.  Still finishing up the graphic design associate degree...will be done in December....but I find myself approaching a difficult, difficult decision:


1. University of TN Knoxville Forestry School -- A career in Forestry sounds adventurous, and out of the ordinary.  I absolutely LOVE the outdoors, and studying trees makes me feel closer to God.

or

2. Belmont University in Nashville -- Writing is another great love of mine...and literature, too.  Coupled w/ my Graphic Design degree, this Bachelor's in English from this PRIVATE expensive college ($20,000 a year, including room oncampus) is MONEY in Nashville...it's a more prestigious degree in Nashville...and most likely anywhere else.  But more alluring than the prestige and higher income that would result from going to this school, is what an enriching experience it would be for me as a person, and artist.  The classes are as a rule small...and everyone there is there b/c they WANT to be...unlike a State school.  It is in a beautiful part of town, and I get thrilled when I think that I could possibly immerse myself in that kind of environment.   But the only con:  it's not Forestry.
On top of that I'd hate to leave Nashville for Knoxville.....I'm a member of a 12-step program, and my homegroup and great friends are here.  My heart lives in Nashville.  But the lure of Forestry calls, despite all of this.

WHAT DO I CHOOSE!!!?!??!!!  I've been seriously thinking about Forestry for a year now.  For a while it was Forestry vs. Bachelor's in Graphic Design.....now I know I want a Bachelor's in something other than Graphic Design.....NOW it's Forestry vs. English.....
I don't know what kind of feedback I'm looking for..... Perhaps these details will spark a message one of you are destined to give me....

 


Nonetheless, I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.

[beenthere]

Tough decisions. What options do you have available to pay for more schooling?
Affording a second degree was one of the motivating factors in my decision-making, as well as one in the decisions my four youngsters had to make.  Do you want the debt for a longer period of time, is something to ask yourself.
Good luck in deciding.

[Tom]

When I bought my tractor, the salesman assured me that a small one will do what the big one will do if I have the time to allocate to it.  Time is something that I had dismissed from the equation.

Education is about the same.  If you don't disregard time, there is a lot available to you.  The successful never stop learning.  They may or may not do it in a formal setting, but, they are always open to an education in their field.

Money is another hang-up.  Borrowing money to go to school has gotten a lot of young people into a lot of trouble.  School is fun until you need to pay the piper.  Organized Institutions can separate you from more dollars than you ever would imagine existed.

Twelve step programs are great.  They bring friends into a life where positive relationships never existed.  They can also become a crutch.  It's tough to join the service because you leave your high-school friends at home.  It's tough to get married because you begin to live by different rules and have different goals and single friends won't always come along for the ride.  Any change  in your life will threaten previous social arrangements.  That's just how life is.   If being part of a 12 step program is your life, then widen your boundaries and become a part of other clubs.  You don't have to give up friends just to make new ones. 

Choosing a career path is a difficult thing for everyone.  Few work in their chosen paths.  You can, though, get so wrapped up in designing and managing your life that you forget to live it.  It happens all of the time. People have good intentions and never get off of the starting line, never get married, never have children, never buy a car, never buy a house, never go on a vacation, .....

You have to start somewhere.  You just have to keep your mind open to other things.  You can't always wait to get all of your ducks lined up before you cross the street.  Sometimes you just have to do something and recoup if it doesn't work out.  It's the goal that is important, not always the path.  There are often many paths to a goal.

If you aren't afraid of time, then many decisions become linear rather than a fork in the road.  What do you want to do first?  Can one goal pay for the other?