How To Become A Forest Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a forest worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a forest worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.74 an hour? That's $26,509 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreForest WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $26,509

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.03%

Asian 1.89%

Black or African American 3.79%

Hispanic or Latino 24.24%

Unknown 4.55%

White 62.50%

Gender

female 29.55%

male 70.45%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a forest worker

Explore forest worker education requirements

Most common forest worker degrees

Bachelor's

45.0 %

Associate

25.0 %

High School Diploma

20.0 %

Start to develop specific forest worker skills

Skills	Percentages
GIS	100.00%

Complete relevant forest worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New forest workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a forest worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real forest worker resumes.

Research forest worker duties and responsibilities

Serve as a wild land fire fighter and/or emergency responder on a statewide basis.
Dig trenches, set ground rods and wire, minor concrete work, traffic control, set cabinets, install pipes.
Dig trenches, set ground rods and wire, minor concrete work, traffic control, set cabinets, install pipes.

Prepare your forest worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your forest worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a forest worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable forest worker resume templates

Build a professional forest worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your forest worker resume.