Careers in Oregon's Forest Sector
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Careers in Oregon’s Forest Sector Volume 2: Options for High School Graduates Careers in Oregon’s forest and wood products manufacturing operations offer exciting opportunities to learn and apply a wide range of skills in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings. These rewarding careers not only deliver valuable wood products to The Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Forest the market, they help ensure the continued Resources Institute (OFRI) in 1991 to improve public protection of Oregon’s environment. Ever understanding of forests, forest products and forest advancing technology and innovation help management and to encourage sound forestry through people in this field do things better, safer landowner training. In keeping with this mission, and in more comfortable settings than ever OFRI sponsors classroom and field programs for K-12 students and teachers and produces educational before. materials such as this publication. This publication is a guide for high school students looking for satisfying careers that do not require a college degree. It examines careers in the production of wood products – from the growing and harvesting of timber to the transport and delivery of logs to the mill and the manufacturing of products made from trees. Students may gain useful insights from reading about the people profiled in this publication and about their job duties, required skills, working conditions and career paths. There are additional information sources and Web sites about forest operations and manufacturing careers (on the back cover). This is Volume 2 of two publications that OFRI offers for use by high school students seeking information on career opportunities in Oregon’s forest sector. Volume 1, prepared especially for college- bound students, is available from OFRI, along with three OFRI Special Reports that profile three key categories of Oregon’s forest sector occupations: forest operators, Note: Opportunities for college graduates are described in Volume 1: Options for College-Bound Students forest products workforce and forestry professionals. 2 . Careers in Oregon’s Forest Sector I OREGON FOREST RESOURCES INSTITUTE Roots of Forest Operations and Manufacturing In Oregon The manufacturing of lumber and other forest products has been an economic mainstay in Oregon for nearly two centuries. The last half of the 20th century was marked by dramatic technological improvements in growing and harvesting timber and manufacturing forest products and by strong environmental protections for Oregon’s vast forest resources. In 1971, Oregon became the first state to pass a comprehensive set of forest protection laws, known collectively as the Oregon Forest Practices Act (OFPA). The OFPA protects environmental resources such as forest streams and wildlife habitat during harvest operations. It also requires replanting after harvest, guaranteeing the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s forest resources by ensuring that more wood is grown over time than is harvested or lost to natural causes like fire. This gives extra meaning to the concept of trees as a “renewable” resource. Oregon’s world-class wood products manufacturing industry also contributes to environmental excellence by minimizing the waste of raw materials and being more energy-efficient than ever. The future is bright for careers and jobs for those seeking to join the nation’s leading forest sector and its highly-skilled workforce. Advances in Forest Operations and Manufacturing Technology Improvements in equipment and technology have made work in Oregon’s forest sector safer and more satisfying than ever. The forest sector provides opportunities for young men and women with a wide range of interests and skills. These opportunities continue to grow with the advent of such new technology as electronic diagnostics and computer control systems. A mill worker or logger from the 1980s would not recognize much of the technology in use in modern forest and mill operations. People who work in the woods may spend much of their day operating complex controls at their own work station or in the cab of a logging machine. These might include on-board computers that provide information they need to maximize the value of every log. Forest technicians measure and grade the logs and affix bar codes so each log can be tracked by the mill’s inventory system. At a sawmill, new laser scanning and computer optimizing technology enables the operator to position logs for the most efficient cuts as they move through electronically-controlled saws. Innovative new products include laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Thin layers of veneer are peeled from small logs and glued together to make LVL, an engineered building product stronger than conventional lumber. Other innovations include the use of once-discarded waste wood fiber from sawmills and the forest to make a variety of engineered wood and paper products or to produce renewable energy. These are just a few of the accomplishments made possible by the commitment and skills of the men and women who work in Oregon’s forests and wood products manufacturing operations. Employment in the Forest Sector Today, the forest sector is the major contributor and productive forests, will create many – both economic and social – to rural and opportunities in the future. In addition, a wave small-town life across the state. The sector of retirements in the forest sector is expected directly employs more than 85,000 men over the next decade, opening up many more and women, including an estimated 52,000 jobs. in primary and secondary forest products Wages in Oregon’s forest sector are significantly manufacturing, 15,000 in logging and related above the state’s average. Competitive wages forest operations and 18,000 in forestry and and benefits are offered by hundreds of forest related services. Building on Oregon’s rich products and forestry-related employers. forestry heritage, innovations and technical Regardless of one’s education, there are advances continue to grow and diversify the successful career advancement pathways fields of forestry and forest products. Industry leading to excellent life-long careers in Oregon’s analysts project continued employment forests and forest products manufacturing opportunities and growth in the forest sector plants and mills. through 2020. Rising global demand for wood products, matched with Oregon’s well-managed OREGON FOREST RESOURCES INSTITUTE | Careers in Oregon’s Forest Sector . 3 Employment in Oregon’s Forest Operations and Manufacturing sector How Much Do Forest Operations and Manufacturing Jobs Pay?* The average annual salary for an Oregonian employed in forest operations and manufacturing is $46,010. This is about 34% higher than the state’s overall average salary for all employment fields. What you can earn depends on: • Experience and training • Specialized skills • Level of job responsibility • Performance and reliability • Commitment to safety • Production/safety bonuses and overtime Entry requirements: High School Diploma or GED Entry Salary Range: $25,000-$33,000. Salaries may vary based on hours worked and may be higher during peak seasons. Wages and advancement will increase over time with strong performance, training and experience. *2006 data Working with Opportunity: Self-Management & Teamwork Members of Oregon’s skilled forest sector workforce can take pride in providing wood and paper products and healthy, productive forests and also feel good about working with a renewable resource in an industry that values efficiency, innovation and little or no waste. Many crews have discovered the advantages of teamwork to ensure efficient operations and to address problems. They are self-managed and have set their own standards to improve safety, quality and production. For example, Oregon logger Rod Surcamp talks about the satisfaction he gets from accomplishing harvest goals while leaving a light environmental footprint on the forest landscape. “Logging a parcel the right way is a lot like solving a puzzle,” says Surcamp. “You take a map of what the landowner needs done, look at your equipment and crew, match it all to the land and try to make all the pieces fit together the right way.” Often, operators and crews must learn a variety of jobs. In many forest and wood products manufacturing operations, it’s common to change job sites and work assignments every month or two. Millworker Kristy Winters says, “I learn something new every day, which helps keep my work fresh and interesting.” These changing assignments give workers a fuller understanding of the whole process, and that keeps work exciting! Forestry and logging contractors • Logging conduct harvesting, road building and • Forest road/construction/engineering/surveying maintenance, reforestation, tree care, • Trucking and allied transportation forest protection and other forest- • Forestry and reforestation based work. • Log scaling • Timber cruising • Equipment sales • Equipment maintenance • Other supplies and services Forest products manufacturers • Primary products: lumber, veneer, plywood, engineered panels, pulp, employ skilled forest products workers wood chips, laminated beams and joists, laminated veneer lumber, in more than 130 Oregon plants and poles, fencing, biomass energy. mills. • Secondary products: packaging, printing paper, tissue products, doors/ windows/millwork, furniture/cabinets, treated wood, landscape material, stove pellets. 4 . Careers in Oregon’s Forest Sector I OREGON FOREST RESOURCES INSTITUTE Forestry and Fire Prevention