The Occupation

The occupation of Forest Technician has Realistic and Investigative characteristics as described below: 

Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally

Skills:

(Technical and Functional Expertise): The technical and functional skills listed below are based on general occupations for Forest Technicians commonly recognized by most employers.  Typically, you will not be required to have all of the skills listed to be a successful performer.  Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile. 

1. Managing one's own time and the time of others.

2. Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

3. Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

4. Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

5. Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

6. Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem solving and decision-making.

7. Using mathematics to solve problems.

8. Talking to others to convey information effectively.  

Knowledge:

Note: The technical and functional knowledge statements listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Forest Technicians commonly recognized by most employers.  Typically, you will not be required to have all of the knowledge listed to be a successful performer.  Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile. 

1. Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

2. Structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

3. Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

4. Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. 

Abilities:

Note: The technical and functional abilities listed below are based on general occupational qualifications for Forest Technicians commonly recognized by most employers.  Typically, you will not be required to have all of the abilities listed to be a successful performer.  Recruitment and selection standards for an individual state job must be based on the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities for that job as indicated in the job announcement and job description in the Employee Work Profile. 

1. Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

2. Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

3. Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

4. Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

5. Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

6. Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

7. Generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

8. Speak clearly so others can understand you.

9. Arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). 

Tasks

Note:  The following is a list of sample tasks typically performed by Forest Technicians.  Employees in this occupation will not necessarily perform all of the tasks listed.   

1. Manage forest protection activities, including fire control, fire crew training, and coordination of fire detection and public education programs.

2. Conduct inspections and monitor water quality at logging sites to enforce water quality laws.

3. Patrol park or forest areas to protect resources and prevent damage.

4. Enforce burning law during fire season.

5. Perform reforestation (forest renewal), including nursery and silviculture operations, site preparation, seeding and tree planting programs, cone collection, and tree improvement.

6. Select and mark trees for thinning or logging, drawing detailed plans that include access roads.

7. Supervise forest nursery operations, timber harvesting, land use activities such as livestock grazing, and disease or insect control programs.

8. Thin and space trees and control weeds and undergrowth, using manual tools and chemicals, or supervise workers performing these tasks.

9. Train and lead forest and conservation workers in seasonal activities, such as planting tree seedlings, putting out forest fires and maintaining recreational facilities.

10. Conduct laboratory or field experiments with plants, animals, insects, diseases and soils.

11. Install gauges, stream flow recorders, and soil moisture measuring      instruments, and collect and record data from them to assist with watershed analysis.