Occupations · Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Forest and Conservation Workers
Under supervision, perform manual labor necessary to develop, maintain, or protect areas such as forests, forested areas, woodlands, wetlands, and rangelands through such activities as raising and transporting seedlings; combating insects, pests, and diseases harmful to plant life; and building structures to control water, erosion, and leaching of soil. Includes forester aides, seedling pullers, tree planters, and gatherers of nontimber forestry products such as pine straw.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 45-4011.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 119% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $43,680 | 310 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA | $43,680 | 270 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $43,680 | 160 |
| Sioux Falls, SD | $37,690 | 150 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $39,040 | 130 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $43,680 | 100 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $42,810 | 100 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $55,790 | 70 |
| Rapid City, SD | $33,600 | 60 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $48,050 | 40 |
| Knoxville, TN | $40,320 | 30 |
| Salinas, CA | $43,680 | 30 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Check equipment to ensure that it is operating properly.
- Fight forest fires or perform prescribed burning tasks under the direction of fire suppression officers or forestry technicians.
- Perform fire protection or suppression duties, such as constructing fire breaks or disposing of brush.
- Maintain tallies of trees examined and counted during tree marking or measuring efforts.
- Confer with other workers to discuss issues, such as safety, cutting heights, or work needs.
- Explain or enforce regulations regarding camping, vehicle use, fires, use of buildings, or sanitation.
- Spray or inject vegetation with insecticides to kill insects or to protect against disease or with herbicides to reduce competing vegetation.
- Operate skidders, bulldozers, or other prime movers to pull a variety of scarification or site preparation equipment over areas to be regenerated.
- Thin or space trees, using power thinning saws.
- Identify diseased or undesirable trees and remove them, using power saws or hand saws.
- Select or cut trees according to markings or sizes, types, or grades.
- Prune or shear tree tops or limbs to control growth, increase density, or improve shape.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2023-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2023-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Create field maps using geographic information systems technology.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 10
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| forest worker | 9215.1 | exact |
| forest ranger | 6210.1 | close |
| forestry equipment operator | 8341.1 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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