Forestry/Environmental Management graduate considering moving from Ontario to B.C.

joshua

joshua

Active member
This is probably a shot in the dark, but I know I've seen some posts by people working the B.C. forest industry on here before.

I'm currently a student in Ontario, and will be hopefully finishing up a degree in Environmental Management and eligibility to be an R.P.F. in Ontario. I have a somewhat decent resume, working as a quality checker for a tree planting company for three 2.5 month contracts during my summer breaks. However, I have zero experience in a BC forest environment and hardly any working knowledge of the area. How hard is it for someone like me (bit of useful experience back east, and a degree) to break into a decent environmental/forestry job out west?
 
You seem to be confused. 1: NS may be based in Canada but it has very few Canadians. 2: There is not a single person on this site who is qualified to answer your question. 3: Only .0001% of the members on this website even know what you are talking about. 4: You expected this to be taken seriously. 5: Profit. Oh, wait, with your degree and "qualifications" that is highly unlikely.
 
I'm a forester in the US and like was said above, degree or not you start at the bottom. However, I fucking love my job. BC is competitive because there are loads of people up there with forestry specific degrees and lots of experience. That being said, there's a lot going on. Big logging companies like Weyerhaeuser hire lots of loggers, GIS people, planters, environmental lab techs and foresters, sign up for their job emails. The US forest service would hire you as a forestry tech or a planter but, I can't speak for the Canadian government. Now if you REALLY want to have some fun, get your chainsaw and wildland fire certs. Foresters love that shit.

This year in Salt Lake City, the SAF (society of american foresters) and the Canadian institute of forestry are having a huge joint conference with lots of on the spot hiring. Plus its lots of fun and crusty old foresters buy us young poor people booze.
 
I'd say the best thing you could do is to just email places before you move to try and get a job before you move. That way you move right into work, however if you're a hard worker most places hire people after they have met them, especially for labour type jobs. The only thing outside of these things that I could suggest is to do a bit of research on what areas in BC are really hurting for people. I'm living on Vancouver Island and I run into tons of tree planters here(most of the work being done is on the mainland though).

Not sure if this helps, but I would assume there are a few other people that knows the ins and outs of the forestry industry more than I do. I've only done a small amount of work in the forest and what I was doing was surveying the area for logging(quite the opposite of what you're doing). The amount I worked in the bush was minimal also(work only lasted about a week).
 
Become a wildfire ranger. You can work one season as a member either in BC, or in Alberta then hop on as a ranger.

Pay is great, work is arguably the best in the forestry industry, and great job security.
 
[QUOTE This year in Salt Lake City, the SAF (society of american foresters) and the Canadian institute of forestry are having a huge joint conference with lots of on the spot hiring. Plus its lots of fun and crusty old foresters buy us young poor people booze.[/QUOTE]

Hey, I'm going to this with my school actually.
 
13146134:joshua said:
Hey, I'm going to this with my school actually.
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Sweet! Last year in Charleston SC was so much fun, and is basically how I got my job. I'll be there for work but, hanging out with my friends from my old student chapter from CSU. What school do you go to? My boss will be presenting/ recruiting there for my current gig next year too.

I'll probably be the only blonde girl with a double black diamond tattoo, come grab a beer with the CSU alpha chapter!
 
13146151:caroline. said:
Sweet! Last year in Charleston SC was so much fun, and is basically how I got my job. I'll be there for work but, hanging out with my friends from my old student chapter from CSU. What school do you go to? My boss will be presenting/ recruiting there for my current gig next year too.

I'll probably be the only blonde girl with a double black diamond tattoo, come grab a beer with the CSU alpha chapter!
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I go to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Its a small school.

Also, to the first poster, I realize you are probably just trolling but there is an interesting discussion to be had about that topic.
https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/forest-management-planning

Take a look at this recent Globe and Mail article. Forestry graduates have a 100% employment rate, and they place in the middle of the pack when it comes to earnings. Certainly not you're typical basket weaving degree. Forestry is one of those careers where an aging workforce will cause a shortage of workers in the coming years, with a predicted shortage of between 10,000 and 32,000 workers by 2020 in British Columbia. I'm not too concerned about my employment prospects in Canada. Strictly environmental work (environmental assessments, consulting, etc.) is most likely harder to come by though.
 
13146181:joshua said:
I go to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Its a small school.

Also, to the first poster, I realize you are probably just trolling but there is an interesting discussion to be had about that topic.
https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/forest-management-planning

Take a look at this recent Globe and Mail article. Forestry graduates have a 100% employment rate, and they place in the middle of the pack when it comes to earnings. Certainly not you're typical basket weaving degree. Forestry is one of those careers where an aging workforce will cause a shortage of workers in the coming years, with a predicted shortage of between 10,000 and 32,000 workers by 2020 in British Columbia. I'm not too concerned about my employment prospects in Canada. Strictly environmental work (environmental assessments, consulting, etc.) is most likely harder to come by though.
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Why don't you work for MNR?
 
13146189:MLB said:
Why don't you work for MNR?
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Those jobs are tough to get, and don't pay nearly as well as industry

13146191:Bogez said:
Do you have a beard? Do you often wear red flannel? Can you swing an axe? We need to know how qualified you are.
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Van dyke, had a green flannel that I lost, can swing axe.
 
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