Forestry Degree
Students study forest ecology, timber management, wildfire science, and sustainable land stewardship practices for both private and public forests. Graduates typically pursue careers with the U.S. Forest Service, state forestry agencies, timber companies, and environmental consulting firms. Foresters are in steady demand as wildfire management and sustainable timber practices become national priorities.
What Forestry Graduates Do
Your career will likely be a mix of outdoor fieldwork and indoor analysis. As a forester, you might spend your morning inventorying a timber stand and your afternoon using GIS software to draft a 20-year harvest plan that balances profit with ecosystem health. As a conservation scientist, you could collect soil samples to study erosion patterns, then analyze the data to advise government agencies. Many graduates begin as technicians, the hands-on experts who execute these plans by marking trees or monitoring wildlife populations.
Career progression often involves moving from a technician role to a forester or scientist with more planning responsibility, or into a first-line supervisor position leading on-the-ground crews. While some technician and worker roles face headwinds, demand for conservation scientists is growing. A major advantage of this degree is its resilience to automation. The core of your job—making judgments in unpredictable natural environments and performing hands-on tasks—has low AI exposure. AI will be a powerful tool for analyzing satellite data or modeling growth, but it can't replace your boots-on-the-ground expertise.
Common Career Paths
Where Forestry graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 18,100 combined openings per year.
| Career Path | Salary Range | Openings/yr | Growth | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary | 100 | +4.0% | 48% | |
| Foresters | 1,100 | +1.2% | 37% | |
| Conservation scientists | 2,500 | +3.4% | 52% | |
| First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers | 8,500 | +2.5% | 28% | |
| Forest and conservation technicians | 3,900 | -3.2% | 33% | |
| Forest and conservation workers | 2,000 | -4.7% | 4% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Best Schools for Forestry
Top 20 of 29 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC |
60 58–61 |
$61,142/yr | 19.2x |
| 2 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA |
58 55–58 |
$55,092/yr | 15.5x |
| 3 | California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA |
57 54–57 |
$52,810/yr | 19.1x |
| 4 | University of Georgia Athens, GA |
56 54–56 |
$47,214/yr | 16.2x |
| 5 | University of Idaho Moscow, ID |
52 50–53 |
$47,399/yr | 16.1x |
| 6 | Auburn University Auburn, AL |
50 47–50 |
$51,421/yr | 11.0x |
| 7 | Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS |
49 49–50 |
$40,219/yr | 15.8x |
| 8 | Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Tifton, GA |
49 49–50 |
$40,065/yr | 40.3x |
| 9 | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI |
48 47–49 |
$41,177/yr | 15.8x |
| 10 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA |
46 44–46 |
$45,817/yr | 9.0x |
| 11 | West Virginia University Morgantown, WV |
45 44–46 |
$43,228/yr | 12.8x |
| 12 | Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ |
45 44–45 |
$40,435/yr | 11.2x |
| 13 | Clemson University Clemson, SC |
44 41–44 |
$53,850/yr | 7.4x |
| 14 | Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI |
44 42–44 |
$45,571/yr | 7.4x |
| 15 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN |
44 43–45 |
$43,842/yr | 8.6x |
| 16 | Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA |
40 39–41 |
$44,120/yr | 9.9x |
| 17 | Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN |
40 38–40 |
$43,029/yr | 9.8x |
| 18 | University of Maine Orono, ME |
38 37–39 |
$43,901/yr | 7.7x |
| 19 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO |
37 38–38 |
$37,539/yr | 9.4x |
| 20 | Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX |
36 36–37 |
$39,953/yr | 8.4x |
Highest Earning Forestry Programs
Schools where Forestry graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | $61,142/yr | 60 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | $55,092/yr | 58 |
| Clemson University | $53,850/yr | 44 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | $52,810/yr | 57 |
| Auburn University | $51,421/yr | 50 |
| University of Idaho | $47,399/yr | 52 |
| University of Georgia | $47,214/yr | 56 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | $45,817/yr | 46 |
| Michigan Technological University | $45,571/yr | 44 |
| Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science | $44,342/yr | 34 |
Best ROI for Forestry
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Forestry.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College | 40.3x | $40,065/yr | 49 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 19.2x | $61,142/yr | 60 |
| California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt | 19.1x | $52,810/yr | 57 |
| University of Florida | 17.8x | $26,838/yr | 32 |
| University of Georgia | 16.2x | $47,214/yr | 56 |
| University of Idaho | 16.1x | $47,399/yr | 52 |
| Mississippi State University | 15.8x | $40,219/yr | 49 |
| University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 15.8x | $41,177/yr | 48 |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 15.5x | $55,092/yr | 58 |
| The University of Montana | 13.8x | $31,138/yr | 34 |
Related Majors
Explore similar fields of study.
Consider the Trade Route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Forestry offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.