MF Career Opportunities

Funding and Career Opportunities

The Dean of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science provides $1,000 for each accepted self-funded student, earned by working on School research projects (Earn and Learn).
Assistantships aren't available, but students are encouraged to apply for scholarships and other funding sources.
The forestry and conservation job market is projected to grow 3% between 2024 and 2034, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
See the SFRES Job Postings board for recent, open job descriptions

Salaries
Job Title	Mean Entry-level Salary (Payscale)	Mean Annual Salary (BLS)	Top 10 Percent (BLS)
Figures from Payscale accessed May 2026. Figures from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dated May 2025.
Conservation Scientist	$46,000	$77,130	$110,410
Forester	$42,091	$79,170	$109,700

Credentialed by the Society of American Foresters, this professional degree prepares you for a career in forestry working where you want to be: outdoors.

Where do MF students get summer jobs?

Experiential learning in summer internships and field positions is a key component of the MF program. Some recent summer jobs and locations MF students have gone to include:

Timber prep technician, Forest Service, Arizona
Timber and fire technician, Longyear LLC, Michigan
Wilderness Ranger Intern, Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation, NGO, Idaho and Montana
Data Management and GIS technician, Pathways, Forest Service, Minnesota
Forestry field technician, Deer-Forest Study, Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Penn State, Pennsylvania
Timber technician, Weyerhaeuser, Michigan
Urban arborist, Hartney Greymont/ Davey Tree, Massachusetts

What kind of permanent jobs have MF students gone into?

Michigan Tech MF alumni are spread across the country, working jobs in all the various fields of forestry! Some recent graduates job titles and affiliations include:

GIS and Remote Sensing position, MDA Information Systems, Michigan
Silviculture Forester, Department of Natural Resources, Washington
Urban Arborist, Davey Tree, Massachusetts
Forester, Department of Natural Resources, Michigan
Forestry Technician, Forest Service, Colorado
Forester, Potlach, Michigan
District Forester, Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, Michigan
Resource Forester (public outreach, invasive species, wildland fire, private and public land management), Department of Conservation, Missouri
Regeneration Forester, Forest Service, Arizona

Professional Development

There are also a variety of workshops, certificates, meetings, and other opportunities to enhance your professional development as a Master of Forestry. Some of the regularly offered programs students are encouraged and supported to participate in include:

Chainsaw safety certification
Wildland Fire Red Card training and certification
Forest Resource Management Projects - MF students can take a lead on projects directly impacting and managing School lands
Society of American Foresters State and National Conferences
Other Professional Society Conferences and Meetings related to Natural Resources