Forest and Conservation Technicians
Provide technical assistance regarding the conservation of soil, water, forests, or related natural resources. May compile data pertaining to size, content, condition, and other characteristics of forest tracts under the direction of foresters, or train and lead forest workers in forest propagation and fire prevention and suppression. May assist conservation scientists in managing, improving, and protecting rangelands and wildlife habitats.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Administration and Management
- Geography
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Train and lead forest and conservation workers in seasonal activities, such as planting tree seedlings, putting out forest fires, and maintaining recreational facilities.
- Thin and space trees and control weeds and undergrowth, using manual tools and chemicals, or supervise workers performing these tasks.
- Patrol park or forest areas to protect resources and prevent damage.
- Provide information about, and enforce, regulations, such as those concerning environmental protection, resource utilization, fire safety, and accident prevention.
- Map forest tract data using digital mapping systems.
- Monitor activities of logging companies and contractors.
- Select and mark trees for thinning or logging, drawing detailed plans that include access roads.
- Manage forest protection activities, including fire control, fire crew training, and coordination of fire detection and public education programs.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (35.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (25.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (26%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Forest and Conservation Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 52% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 66% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 97% of occupations compared | 87% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 50% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 50% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 64% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 73% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.53%
- Contact with others most of the time: 51.45%
- Constant contact with others: 45.02%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 4.53%
- Fairly important: 25.09%
- Important: 1.19%
- Very important: 20.86%
- Extremely important: 48.33%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0.56%
- Very important: 12.01%
- Extremely important: 87.43%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 8.49%
- Limited freedom: 21.33%
- Some freedom: 17.44%
- A lot of freedom: 52.74%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 2.98%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 38.41%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.98%
- Every day: 30.63%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2018
Conflict situations
- Never: 0.75%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.44%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.9%
- Every day: 21.11%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.69%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.8%
- Every day: 9.7%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2018
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 11.61%
- Fairly serious: 8.8%
- Serious: 12.26%
- Very serious: 46.53%
- Extremely serious: 20.8%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2018
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O*NET-SOC 19-4071.00 · SOC 19-4071 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8