How about a certificate as a Forest Technician, that was all that was available at the NYS Ranger School in 1969, now a two year degree in forestry or surveying from the same school..100th anniversary of the school next year.
Got my 4yr degree in forest mangement from Humboldt University. When I went to work my boss was an LS with a degree in forestry from Washington. I remember that when I finished my survey classes I thought thank goodness I done with that. The last thing I want to do as a job is surveying. Then I go and get a job working for an LS/forester and the first thing I find myself doing is breaking down 3 sections. It took much longer than it should have and luckily the boss was a very forgiving man. Fast forward to today and I'm licensed in 4 states. I don't know how I ever got to where I am, from where I started, but it was a heck of a ride.
Now my daughter is an LS/PE/Planner and partner in a firm.
I started out with an AS in Forestry in 92 (I think).
Wanakena!
Hell yes. I worked the summer I graduated surveying with a guy who’d just graduated from Wanakena. He had a great survey background from the NY Ranger School, including the triangulate across the river exercise. Good guy, from Lafayette NY, Marine going to school on the G.I. bill. He gave my friend Bob, who worked with us too, a Ranger School patch that has been stitched to Bob's work pack ever since.
J1M2
Good story, or outline anyway. Without the fast forward, I'll bet there's a lot of tale to be told.
Don
Steve
So your dad is Oregon LS 276? That's pretty cool. If you go to the Lane County survey search engine you can see all of his filed surveys. I noticed he did one for a "T. Kangas" who has got to be kin to a friend of mine who was from Lane County, Ken Kangas. Ken died a couple years back so I can't ask him about T. Kangas. I met Ken when I was in Forestry school, of all things.
Grant
> My associate and friend, followed the same path, associate degree from Penn State University and with a short stint in forestry work. Got a position with a surveying firm and worked his way to passing the test for license. No problem with tree identification when he is around!!
Which Penn State campus?
A lot of the surveyors around here came out of the surveying/forestry program at Penn State Mont Alto in the 60's and 70's.
J1M2
I fall into this group. Paul Smiths College Alumni, 1980. A.A.S two-year degree as Forest Technician. First jobs out of the gate was surveying out in Utah. When jobs dried up, along the oil based economy in UT, WY & CO, moved to Southern California in 1996. Landed a surveying job with Orange County, CA, spent just about 12 years working there before joining Ashtech as Technical Trainer, spent 8-years at Ashtech, before moving over to Leica. Five years at Leica, laid off from LGS along with majority of tech support team in 2009. Just started exciting new position with HemisphereGPS. Time flies when you're having fun...
GPS has gotten me around the globe several times, Passport Stamps & Delta air miles to look at. Couple of trips to China, Mexico, South America, Pago Paga in American Samoa, France, multiple trips up to Alaska for Helicopter surveying on Glaciers, Washington Monument GPS campaign with my NGS brothers, Lewis & Clarke Freedom Trail. GPS Surveying has "Been Bery-Bery Good to Me" as seen on SNL...
AAS Forestry Paul Smith's
BS Forestry WVU
I have met a few others with that combo.
Oh my gosh, I hate to see NCEES or ABET get wind of this and try to take over the Forestry profession too!
They probably think you need 6 years of calculus in order to measure the dbh of a tree.
I'm confused, why is the Forestry curriculum at Humboldt State University accredited by a Forester's group, the Society of American Foresters. They should be accredited by the Engineers like us?
😉
Dave
That reminds me of a friend when I lived in Houston that said the only type of trees in Houston were "Creosotus Telephonus", he wasn't far from being right.
Andy
One of my mentors was a forestry major w/ surveying emphasis out of Mich Tech. I believe Walt Robillard started as a forestry grad as well.
I got a Bachelors of Science Degree in Forestry from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas in 1979 and got my Surveying License in 1983.
Mike,
You and I graduated in the same year with the same degree. I was hired by the Oregon State Forestry Dept. They put me on the survey crew in the Elliot State Forest. I have been surveying ever since.
Joe
Hey Dave
Just caught up with your post this morning. Your comments were no doubt tongue-in-cheek about calculus but I did suffer through 2 terms of it. Didn't do me much good since I can't remember any of it now and can't say I have ever had occasion to use it in my career. I guess if I was a little smarter I probably would have used it.
The Oregon Board recognizes a Forest Engineer but not a Forest Manager.
2006 B.S. Resource Con University of Montana College of Forestry.
The Foresters at Humboldt State take 2 semesters of Math, I'm not sure if that is 2 semesters of Calculus. It only specifically lists a Calculus class for Natural Resource Science majors. The major is heavy on biology and dendrology which make sense. Unfortunately the engineering-based LS majors have a lot of hard science and calculus which is great but I would think that the time and energy would be better spent on things like heavy duty boundary law.
My understanding is there is a lot of politics in programming majors in the universities. The Engineering majors take the high octane calculus but apparently the Forestry department has managed to hold the Math department at bay for their majors. It seems like someone told me the Surveying Department would like to do their own math courses but the politics of the university keeps it in the Math department, something like that.
