Career
Foresters
Manage forests for timber, wildlife and future generations.
$76,400
Median pay
+2.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
900
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.
- Plan cutting programs and manage timber sales from harvested areas, assisting companies to achieve production goals.
- Determine methods of cutting and removing timber with minimum waste and environmental damage.
- Negotiate terms and conditions of agreements and contracts for forest harvesting, forest management and leasing of forest lands.
- Perform inspections of forests or forest nurseries.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Establish short- and long-term plans for management of forest lands and forest resources.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $76,400 a year and 900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Environmental Science and ConservationSee the degree →
- Natural Resources/Conservation, GeneralCIP 03.0101
- Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, GeneralCIP 03.0201
- Forestry, GeneralCIP 03.0501
- Forest Sciences and BiologyCIP 03.0502
- Forest Management/Forest Resources ManagementCIP 03.0506
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Forest and Conservation Technicians$54,560 · -2.1%
- Range Managers
- Conservation Scientists$73,010 · +5.3%
- Forest and Conservation Workers$43,680 · -1.5%
- Environmental Restoration Planners
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.