Becoming a Forest and Wildlife Conservation Technician in Illinois

According to the USDA and U.S. Forest Service, Illinois is home to 4.9 million acres of forest land. Thanks to conservation and forestry efforts, that number has grown nearly 3 percent since 2011. If you’d like to help restore, protect and measure forest land in Illinois, you might consider becoming a forest and conservation technician. These are the trained professionals who work for foresters and guide forest and conservation workers in hands-on forest tasks.

The range of tasks for forest technicians varies depending on the location and specific needs of the forest or wildlife where they work. Forestry technicians, who are trained in the technical aspects of forest work, often collect data for conservation scientists, run heavy machinery to clear trees, train forest workers and mitigate forest fires. Some forest technicians are trained to raise seedlings in nurseries while others work with trees and wildlife in urban settings. The majority of forest and conservation technicians are employed by federal, state and local agencies.

Becoming a Forest Technician

Jump-start your career by focusing on science and math classes in high school. Having a good foundation in these subjects will help you learn forestry material faster later on. After completing high school, forestry technicians should earn at least an associate’s degree in forestry, horticulture, natural resources or another related subject. While it’s possible to begin work without a degree, this job involves a lot of technical work, so earning a degree shows employers you’re prepared.

Studying Forestry in Illinois

Illinois offers many learning opportunities for those interested in the forestry field. You don’t have to stop with an associate’s degree—earning a four-year bachelor’s degree is another way to show employers you’re dedicated to the job and can help you eventually become a forester. Here are some available two-year programs in Illinois:

• Shawnee Community College. In Ullin, this school offers a two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Fish and Wildlife Management. This degree is designed to prepare students for a variety of careers in conservation or wildlife. Coursework includes wildlife and tree identification, forestry study and the study of soils and agriculture chemicals. Shawnee is a participant in the Illinois Articulation Initiative, a program that allows students to transfer easily to larger institutions to complete their bachelor’s degree.
• Joliet Junior College. This Joliet college offers a two-year Environmental Horticultural AAS degree. Students in the program are required to take nine hours of paid work training. Additional skill certificates, which count toward graduation, can be earned alongside the Environmental Horticultural AAS degree. Students can choose to specialize in Nursery Production and Management or Urban Forestry, among other concentrations.

Employment and Salary Statistics

While the number of forest and conservation technicians around the country is in a state of slow decline, it’s on the rise in Illinois. The Projections Managing Partnership reports that in 2016, a total of 470 technicians were employed in the state. That number is expected to rise 2.1 percent by the year 2026. Forestry technicians in Illinois can expect to see an average of 60 job openings per year.

The pay rate for Illinois forestry technicians is also much higher than the national median income for this profession, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting that Illinois forest and conservation technicians earned a median income of $22.81 per hour in 2018. By comparison, the national median income for these professionals that year was only $17.37 per hour.

Where Should You Start in Illinois?

To gain an idea of the best places to work as a forest and conservation technician in Illinois, you can look at state statistics reported by the BLS. In 2018, the area that employed the highest number of technicians was the Chicago area, but the area with the highest concentration of these professionals per 1,000 jobs was the south Illinois nonmetropolitan area.

The highest paid technicians were found in Springfield, where they were earning a median of $25.85 per hour that year. The east-central and northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan areas also paid well, at $24.53 and $24.87 per hour, respectively. According to the USDA, forest land mainly covers the west and southern portions of Illinois, so these are probably good areas to begin your career as well.