Graduating This Month? Consider a Career in the Forest Sector

June marks the end of another high school year.  Graduating seniors are contemplating their next stage in life, with many looking to forest sector opportunities. If you come across a graduate thinking of their future, put in a good word for forest careers – it’s an excellent place to start a young life, learn an occupation, and work outdoors in rural Oregon!

The forest sector directly employs over 62,000 people in Oregon, in all 36 counties.  Forests offer many career paths, such as: equipment operator, technology service, timber measurement, commercial truck driver, outdoors work, heavy equipment mechanic, logger, engineer, production supervisor, millwright, forester, biologist, and more.

Forest careers in technology, operations, transportation and forest products are some of Oregon’s most fascinating and rewarding!  Work-life in rural forest communities is a desirable place to make a living and raise a family.  The average annual wage of these occupations was $68,200 in 2021, 7% more than the $64,000 statewide average wage.

Oregon Forest Resources Institute supports Oregon’s future forestry occupations, through K-12 education programs, community colleges and universities.  Learn more about forest careers, and how to “Find Your Path”, at: https://learnforests.org/all-resources