Careers in Forestry and Related Sectors

Forestry provides many different career avenues and can include employment with large forest companies, logging and reforestation contractors, modelling and programming consultants, government, academics, and trades. Approximately 40,000 Albertans are employed in forestry-related positions. Work Wild is an excellent resource for exploring traditional forestry career pathways.

Planning Forester

Plan all forest activities while protecting water, wildlife, soils, and other values

Government Regulator

Develop and oversee the implementation of policies that are consistent with society’s goals for wildlands and forests, and that land values be sustained after management

Reclamation Manager

Develop and implement plans regarding the recovery of highly disturbed lands or linear disturbances related to industrial activities in forested or wildland areas

Wildland Management

Assess or manage watersheds, landscapes, remote sensing, biodiversity and other specialized areas related to wildlands and forests

Forest Economist

Assess and predict the value of the forests after management or change in policy, to ensure the value of investments or sustainability of social values.

Silviculture Forester

Plan all of the forestry activities that link the harvest of the forest with the successful regeneration and control of the composition of the forest in order to ensure society’s values

Logging Contractor, Log Haul Driver

Operate heavy equipment to safely harvest trees and move them efficiently to mills

Modeller, Analyst, GIS Specialist

Build maps, organize spatial data, and run models to ensure future values of forests and wildlands are assessed and predicted to ensure sustainability

Researcher, Academic

Study the forest and find new ways to improve forestry’s efficiency and minimize negative impacts to the environment

Operations Forester

Manage logging equipment and all the stages of harvest to ensure wood gets to mills safety, effectively, and without damage to the environment

Public/Indigenous Consultation Lead

Engage with indigenous groups and impacted Albertans to build better forestry practices for everyone on the provincial public land we share

Mill Tradesperson

Operate machinery with precision and skill to turn incoming logs into value-added finished products

Tree Planter

Take responsibility for physically planting thousands of seedlings that will regrow cutblocks into the next generation’s forest

Resourceful Links

CIF