Do you want to help people have the best possible experience on National Forests and Grasslands? Apply to become a forestry aid or technician and learn how you can make a difference!

 

Positions open August 14 through 21, 2023. Positions will be available throughout IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, NH, OH, PA, WV, and WI. More opportunities will be available later in the year.

 

We are hiring hundreds of entry-level forestry aids and technicians in exciting and rewarding locations across the country. These positions offer built-in opportunities for advancement and wide-ranging experiences in recreation or forestry and natural resource areas including timber, wildlife, watershed, botany, silviculture, range, and more. As a forestry aid or technician, you’ll make a difference by helping to reduce the threat of wildfire, lessen tree disease, decrease the spread of invasive plant species, or improve habitat for wildlife. Your work may also support recreation and the public’s enjoyment of national forests and grasslands.

How to Apply

Review the USAJOBS vacancy announcement for Forestry Technicians and apply between August 14 through 21, 2023.

Tips on How to Apply

• For videos, tips, and tricks, visit the How to Apply webpage.
• Be sure to attach transcripts if you base your qualifications on education, not experience. Remember, education is more than a certain number of years beyond high school. You also need enough credit hours in particular subjects.
• If you base your qualifications on experience, be sure your resume clearly states the month, day, and year when you started and stopped each period of employment and how many hours per week you worked.
• Keep in mind that unpaid volunteer work or internships may count as experience.
• Human Resources specialists make the final determination of whether your experience counts as general or specialized. Be sure your resume clearly describes your job experience to help them make an accurate determination.

Who’s Eligible?

To qualify for a position means that you meet its baseline requirements. You may qualify as a forestry aid or technician (job series 0462) with just 6 months of full-time general work experience or at least 1 year of education beyond high school that included relevant coursework. What will vary is the General Schedule (GS) level you qualify for. GS level determines a position’s salary and duties. Qualifying for a certain GS level depends on your work experience and formal education.

What Is Needed to Qualify?

Qualifications for forestry aid or technician positions are exceptionally flexible because applicants need only experience or education. They don’t need both.

• GS-3: 6 months of full-time general experience or 1 year of education above high school with relevant coursework.
• GS-4: 6 months of full-time general experience AND 6 months of specialized experience or 2 years of education above high school with relevant coursework.
• GS-5: 1 year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-4 or a 4-year college degree with relevant coursework.

The key word in these requirements is “or.” For example, if you have 6 months of general work experience, there is no education requirement for you to qualify as a GS-3 forestry aid – in other words, you don’t need a high school diploma or post-secondary coursework. On the other hand, if you have 1 year of education beyond high school with relevant coursework, you can qualify as a GS-3 forestry aid without general work experience.
Experience needn’t be continuous. Shorter periods of work can be combined to reach the required length. Your resume must state the month, day, and year when each period of employment started and stopped, as well as the number of hours worked per week. The required length of employment assumes full-time work, but longer periods of part-time work could be used to meet the requirement.

What Counts as General Experience?

• Performed manual labor such as construction work, stocking shelves, or working on farms, ranches, or other settings where you fed or tended livestock or maintained facilities and equipment.
• Worked in the outdoors or in recreation.
• Engaged in general maintenance duties like custodial work, mowing, or tending grounds.
• Cared for animals. 
• Tended plants for a nursery, greenhouse, or landscaping company.
• Provided mechanical, electrical, or plumbing services.
• Served as a cashier or managed money.
• Provided customer service.
• Conducted administrative tasks or managed correspondence or files.
• Worked as a delivery driver or in transportation.
• Gained other work experience (paid or unpaid, including volunteering or interning) for research or academic projects; tribal, cultural, or art organizations; professional associations or societies; at organizations like parks, food banks, youth camps, hospitals, or nursing homes; caregiving; participating in community and tribal engagement initiatives; or supporting sports leagues, local fire and police departments, or nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations.

What Counts as Specialized Experience?

• Helped prepare reports, visual aids, or maps to convey information.
• Assisted with inspections and reported findings on various natural resource projects.
• Helped maintain recreation areas or trails.
• Assisted with inspections, patrols, or contracts/permits for parts of a project.
• Collected data to support natural resource reports, plans, projects, or permitted uses.
• Used databases or software to support data management and/or prepare visuals for projects.
• Helped to build or maintain infrastructure for projects that restore or protect wildlife, fisheries, range, botany, or watershed. 
• Used a range of communication methods to address customer questions and concerns. 
• Used power tools or equipment for forestry or natural resource-related projects. 
• Gained experiences related to Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (gathering, hunting, fishing, cultural burning, managing resources, environmental monitoring, cultural preservation, advocating, educating, etc.).

What Counts as Education?

If you’re qualifying with education instead of experience (again, you don’t need both), you need sufficient credit hours in required coursework and should attach your transcript with your application.

• GS-3: Successful completion of 1 year of study that included at least 6 semester hours in a combination of courses such as range management or conservation, agriculture, forestry, wildlife management, engineering,
• biology, mathematics, or other natural or physical sciences.
• GS-4: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable.
• GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above for GS-4. No more than 6 semester hours in mathematics is creditable.

Questions

For questions about career opportunities and applications call 1-877-372-7248 (select option 2 and follow prompts). We're open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time and closed on all Federal holidays.

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