Forest and Conservation Workers
Under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to plant life; and building structures to control water, erosion, and leaching of soil. Includes forester aides, seedling pullers, tree planters, and gatherers of nontimber forestry products such as pine straw.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Geography
- Biology
- Communications and Media
- Transportation
What the work involves
- Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.
- Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs.
- Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.
- Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush.
- Select or cut trees according to markings or sizes, types, or grades.
- Identify diseased or undesirable trees and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.
- Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects or to protect against disease or with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.
- Thin or space trees, using power thinning saws.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (43.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (32.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (29.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Forest and Conservation Workers 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 | Lower on contact with others than 55% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 69% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 58% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 94% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 86% of occupations compared | 70% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 67% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- 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: 1.68%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 11.62%
- Contact with others most of the time: 38.47%
- Constant contact with others: 48.22%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 2.17%
- Fairly important: 5.5%
- Important: 21.78%
- Very important: 39.76%
- Extremely important: 30.78%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.85%
- Fairly important: 0.85%
- Important: 15.16%
- Very important: 31.2%
- Extremely important: 51.94%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.88%
- Limited freedom: 10.5%
- Some freedom: 55.73%
- A lot of freedom: 32.89%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 10.4%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.48%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 46.33%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.33%
- Every day: 12.46%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 6.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 69.98%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.37%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.91%
- Every day: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 62.84%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.26%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.04%
- Every day: 0%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.16%
- Fairly serious: 13.94%
- Serious: 24.91%
- Very serious: 10.21%
- Extremely serious: 35.79%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2023
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Fishing and Hunting Workers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Pest Control Workers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Sailors and Marine Oilers
Closeness 92/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 45-4011.00 · SOC 45-4011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8