How To Become A Resource Forester: What It Is and Career Path

What is a resource forester and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Justin Kunkle PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a resource forester. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.45 an hour? That's $52,935 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 1,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Resource Forester?

Justin Kunkle PhD

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Michigan State University

The day-to-day tasks of a forester include conducting fieldwork, managing forests, developing forest management plans, analyzing data, and ensuring sustainable practices. Someone entering the field may start by assisting senior foresters, learning about different tree species, and understanding forest management techniques.

ScoreResource ForesterUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,935

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.13%

Asian 1.37%

Black or African American 0.23%

Hispanic or Latino 1.82%

Unknown 2.96%

White 92.49%

Gender

female 13.04%

male 86.96%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a resource forester

Explore resource forester education requirements

Most common resource forester degrees

Bachelor's

80.0 %

Master's

15.0 %

Associate

5.0 %

Start to develop specific resource forester skills

Skills	Percentages
GIS	49.80%
Harvest	32.30%
Forests	9.20%
GPS	6.45%
DOF	2.25%

Complete relevant resource forester training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New resource foresters 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 resource forester based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real resource forester resumes.

Research resource forester duties and responsibilities

Manage and distribute COMSEC cryptographic material for communications security devices on a monthly basis.
Implement quarterly harvest plans to project cash flow and to involve contract logger in strategic/tactical plans to maximize harvest potential.
Administer harvest contracts and supervise contractors.
Review and analyze past NEPA documents and administrative records in order to advise management on strategic management action plans.

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When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your resource forester resume.

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