By
eHow Careers & Work Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Establish a Reputation as a Forest Engineer
Step1
Pursue a joint degree in forestry management and civil engineering to become a forest engineer. Many universities that offer forestry and engineering classes have coupled the two areas to help future foresters become more marketable. You can also pursue a forestry management degree at a technical college and work nights and weekends on your engineering degree at a university.
Step2
Take seminars and accelerated courses in biology, chemistry and physics as you gain experience in the forestry field. Forest engineers need to know the life cycle of different tree species as well as the reaction of trees to human development. Your job experience should make these courses a breeze.
Step3
Seek a mixture of job and academic experience in topography to help land advanced forest engineering positions. You can become a senior engineer or a department head in your company if you know about map making and geographic information systems (GIS).
Step4
Qualify for state forest engineering positions by taking your state's civil service examination. Every specialist position in state government has a different test and the forest engineer test usually includes questions about state policies on forestry. Most states allow engineers to test every 6 months to a year to stay current on qualifications.
Step5
Check vacancy positions with lumber wholesalers and other corporations that need forest engineers. These companies utilize a variety of regional forest engineers for a full range of services from developing roads through forests to the logistics of moving lumber to warehouses. These positions are lucrative and in high demand at present.
Step6
Search for positions with forestry services or corporations that use green harvesting techniques. Many companies that utilize large tracts of forest for lumber have begun to plant new trees for every tree they cut done and other methods that are environmentally sustainable. These positions offer a challenge to engineers like you to find new methods for a centuries old process.