Should You Join The US FOREST SERVICE?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ย. 2022
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Well said! Not like it use to be. I was with the USFS for twelve years and made it to a GS 11 step 10. I was with an enterprise program for ten years. I had to leave when even the enterprise program was beginning to implode with the rest of the USFS. (The enterprise program was designed, originally, to put competition into government). Overall, they are not backfilling positions and putting too much workload on the employees that are staying. The "use or lose" mentality of the funding and the inability to fire bad employees (easier to promote them somewhere else) is killing the agency and all government for that matter. Keep up the great vids! Love them!
I'm in the USDA and everything you said rings true in our department as well.
@@fonz-ys6xu Hard to recruit college students especially when starting pay is low compared to other forestry related jobs...having little control over where you will work also has a negative effect.
In my graduating class of Forestry majors, maybe 2 or 3 of 30 joined a federal agency. They sure didn't sell me on it, I only considered my state DNR for government work.
@@VoidOneGamer Very true! It is a job for love of the outdoors and not for money. You have to be willing to be paid almost nothing in order to get your foot in the door. I started as a term position and was told to get out by the time I was 30 if I did not have a permanent position. Took me 7 years to put myself through college with a BS in Forestry and Natural Resource Management so I didn't have much tie left for that count down. I don't regret getting in permanent though, great experience and eye opening in how the world works....and I got to build trail and teach others how in Alaska, Hawaii, Northwest, Southwest, Midwest and the South. State work is good and you'll get a great experience with that.
@Bar Nine Zarahemla Ranch Wasatch-Cache is amazing. I was lucky enough to lay out some trail there and construct it as well. Worked with Cheryl if I recall. Great gal and a great place! I was just their this weekend!
Yeah that the federal government in a nutshell, it’s amazing it hasn’t collapsed yet
I would suggest for the highschoolers, apply for the for the summer youth program. They do trail work , instill responsibilities and build team work skills. My boy did it , and was team leader his second year. You must live by a forest service maintenance facility.
Why in the hell would you direct your kid into being a Government employee, where free thought and dissent from corruption are squashed.
@@hime273 that may be true , but doing this for a summer job is not a life long comment.
I started working for the USFS in 1987. I got hired during one of the worst fire years on the Klamath NF. It was a blast! I fought fire in the wilderness, worked as a hydrology field tech, the wildlife biology field tech, then a fish biologist. That was before everything was defunded by the GOP. Now everything is farmed out to private consultants. Sooooo, I became a private consultant! Now I make way more money and don't have to put up with all the bureaucracy.
The siege of 87 I hear it every fire season from old Ed Masonheimer and a few others 😅
Hello sir. I just turned 20 and It has been my dream of providing services for my national forests here in Colorado. If private consulting is the most effective way to do that. May I ask how and/or what it means exactly to be a private consultant in layman's terms. I wish to specialize in Ecology, and wildlife conservation if that helps?
@@isaiahalegria168 I worked on and off for the USFS & BLM for over 20 years before I started working for private companies that were awarded Federal contracts. Working as a temp will get you a lot of experience and a good insight on how the system works. I paid attention and made all the connections I could. Back then things were a lot different. A young man with plenty of experience could get a job in the natural resources field pretty easily. Since then it's become a lot more competitive. Back in the late 1980's and early 90's, not nearly as many people were studying to get biology, botany, geology degrees etc..... Experience counted a lot more. Now there are a lot of young people with college degrees and it's become really competitive. In the late 1990's and early 2000's I had worked for several private companies doing fish & wildlife surveys. In about 2001, I wrote a few proposals and bid on some wildlife survey contracts. Because I knew many of the supervisors and administrators, I was able to write some pretty good proposals and got a few. Things have changed a lot since then and the whole business has become really political. Funding for many of these projects is dependent on which political party is in the Whitehouse. I think a young person trying to get into the field these days would have to get at least a four year biology degree, and then apply everywhere there's an opening. Otherwise you could work for a private consultant, but they don't pay much anymore. Sorry I don't have a better answer.
I did five seasons on a timber crew and one half season detailed to a hot shot crew. I learned a ton about forestry. The training was great. I would have kept at it, but I had the wrong degree to really move up. I loved the cross country hiking every day.
This is double-great advice!
Always try things out before committing to them whenever possible.
And don’t be afraid to try things that will help you grow in character and experience.
Thanks for issuing the grand/dad advice so many men don’t hear anymore.
I am about to retire from the Forest Service and I found good and bad things there. I worked in an amazing ecosystem and got a lot of time outdoors. They have so many different jobs and specialties, good training programs, and good pay. However I found the Forest Service to be highly politicized, and highly regulated in that there is an approved way to do everything and you must follow that approved way or risk the Forest Service coming after you. Its a great environment if you just like to go with the flow, but if you have ideas of your own and are highly motivated I suggest a different path.
Well said.
Or better yet stay in and be the one changing things and making the agency better.
@@dragonracer76 Its all a top down agency and there is zero chance to make change from below.
@@dragonracer76 Naive fool.
That doesn't happen unless the person is from a prominent family, and involved in Freemasonry or the many Secret Societies connected to masonry.
Pay is horrendous. Not sure what you're talking about there.
I think it depends state by state and district by district. Fire, Nursery, Land Surveyors, Ecologists (Botany, Wildlife, Fish, etc...), Research, and Timber Crews get TONS of field work. Damn this year alone I slept more in my tent then my house. I do agree that the higher up you go the more bureaucratic it gets, which kills a lot of the core motivation you may have had when joining. I guess that is true for most jobs... but for GS 4-8 you would find yourself living outside or outside almost every day. As for culture, hard for me say. Each district and forest will have their own way of doing things. Most of my work is deep in forest isolation so I cannot complain. I have been working on the Idaho National Forests and for the Region 4 for 6 years now and so far I love being a public servant.
That's proably the first time I've ever heard a Government Employee actually call themselves a Public Servant.
At this point, 90% of Government employees see themselves as superior to those who are forced to pay their salaries.
@@hime273Sadly I have seen that a few times but from my interactions with FS workers in Idaho they seem humble and proud community focused workers. I try and do my part to put the interests of public first.
@SeanDahlman1 hello. I'm a 20 year old Colorado Native and I have always wanted to work in the forest that the Rocky Mountains provide us here in Colorado. I am also very interested in Ecology. Can u please provide me with insider info as far as what your day to day occupation consists of. And also if u have the knowledge, what exactly does an Ecologist look like in the USFS
@@isaiahalegria168 Hey Isaiah! It depends on which focus you want. For ecology there are a bunch. Botany (this ranges from looking for rare/endangered plants, restoration work/research, old growth forest preservation, etc..) Botany is super wide in its application because plants are the ‘bottom’ of the energy tree. Therefore the job type can vary from state to state. My background is desert plants so my work is focused in Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada. Another job is Wildlife. My experience with wildlife is limited but it could be the most ‘hardcore’ next to Fisheries. Animals move so you have to gain a real intimate knowledge of tracks and environments where they like to hide and thrive. This field is also diverse with ecologists focused on game, birds and reptiles. Another job is fisheries. If you like getting wet and love fish this is your perfect job! These guys will hike miles upstream… any stream. To find Bull Trout. I did one week shadowing the fish crews and it was remote and intense. There is of course Forest Health, AKA Bug People. I do not know too much of this department but they are increasingly getting more important due to invasive insects from around the world. As for day to day work it can be summed up like this. Wake up Monday, get your gear and mission goals, and head out camping. Come back Thursday for data entry. Rinse and repeat from May-October. Winter is usually data season or if you are wildlife, you go looking for winter animals like Lynxes. A lot of entry level jobs are seasonal though, some people love that and some people don't. I personally enjoy it because I love to travel and do new things. My only advice is to get a fairly general undergrad degree, like Biology or Environmental Science. From there you can apply and bounce around through many departments until you find a focus you really like. From there I do recommend a graduate degree in that passion or getting a GIS Cert. During undergrad and grad I also recommend building your statistics skills as well as python. Data is getting huge and learning the program language of data can help you secure good job positions. Let me know if you have any more questions!
@@SeanDahlman1 idk how I can say thank u enough times without sounding completely stupid. But seriously thank u so much. Your wisdom is very important to people like me who are still trying to figure out this game called life
I should say thank you so much for the advice.
The impression I had of the forest service is probably more romanticized than I would like to think, but I will seriously consider it as a career.
Thank you again, we need more men like you.
Not sure if your experience was always fire or not but as a rec manager I can say that this isn't really true. Our rec folks spend every day in the field. Engineering and timber, ECT spend most their time in the field as well. Also fire culture is way different than other shops. I would highly encourage folks to try out different seasonal positions until they find which one floats their boat and work towards that goal. Keep in mind that some shops are more field oriented than others eg: GIS, lands, dispatch, NEPA specialists, ECT will doing office work for the most part where fire, recreation, timber, silverculture, weeds, biology, hydro, ECT spend a lot of time either doing field work at lower levels or doing surveys, planning, field trips with cooperators, supervising field crews, ect at mid to higher levels.
I’ve worked for the Forest Service for twelve years, primarily in trails/recreation. I think you should definitely work for the forest service.
It’s a great agency and while it’s true there is a lot of bureaucracy these days, it’s still worth it.
As a 19 year old, you will only be working in the field. I would say don’t focus on Fire. There are many departments: Rec, trails, biology-just hiking through the woods looking for goshawks, in some cases-timber, range, etc.
It can be hard to get your foot in the door without any relevant experience, so I would urge you to consider working for a conservation corps (every state has at least one) for a season. You’ll be doing similar work and probably even be working directly with a land management agency such as the USFS, BLM, or NPS. Then when you apply to the FS, your new boss will look at your resume and say, oh wow, this kid knows how to run a saw, build fence, and has a summer of camping under his belt! Hired!
Glad you do stuff like this man. As a carpenter who is 30 years old in a field of people much older than me, I hear a lot of this involving my field as well. It really is a d*** shame that hard honest work has Lost so much of its former image.
Sad but true. I am likewise 19 and looking at working in the wild land resources sector and it is sad hearing all the older people I look up to saying don’t go into this because people like you with work ethic are of a different mindset and they will use you to your limit then dump you for being different morally and mentally. I wish the parents of all the young adults had cared about their kids lives like mine did, maybe we would have more good youth if this were the case
@@funwiththefamily4279 very perceptive of you. It’s the difference between people that want to earn money or they just want to get money. But here’s the thing. People like you can BE the change we need. And there are old guys like me that will support you in that effort. Never give up, never surrender. You brighten my day knowing there are young people like you.
@@Mikemalone7873 thank you for your kind words. your right I do find great piers in my feild some of whom I am very close with. I do try and "press the attack" and continue on. there is not yet lost hope, just less people out there looking for it and working towards it. God bless.
I’m 21 and worked carpentry for half a year or so, my father did it as I grew up. I joined a crew and I have never in my life been in such a terrible job environment. Druggies and drunks on the site trying to hammer nails cut boards, everyone has an ego and no one is willing to teach any of the younger guys from what I’ve seen. A lot of these older tradesmen are spiteful bitter people who never found a way to make money with their heads so now they are 60 still swinging a hammer like they were when they were 20. Not to mention the fact the NO ONE has you back when you work a job like that. I’ve seen people fall off roofs and everyone at the job site just laughed and calls them stupid while the guy is down there with a broken back
I think it depends on the area. I'm a volunteer fire fighter here in CenTex and have attended several wildland firefighting schools hosted by the Forest Service through the years, the instructors wouldn't trade it for the world. Great people by the way.
Did 5 fire seasons with the FS. My knees and back are forever broken but the bond with my crews will forever remain in tact
I've done 5 seasons in Oregon as a seasonal and am now approaching my permanent position in my home forest. Hopeful in not breaking down haha 😅
Didn't Cody get booted from the USFS?
He got booted cause he let his kid wear the USFS helmet
But he still lives with the crew and gets everything for free from them. That's how he has been able to build his cabins and own all these cool million dollar toys.
I say give it a try. I worked with a timber crew last summer, we kept busy in the field everyday and had a blast. And yes some districts are better than others.
I’m sharing this with my 17yr old daughter. She has plans on joining after high school. Our area here in west Tennessee is nothing like what your used to but this is great advice thank you
Look into TN Department of Forestry its not USFS its actually State and it probably has better pay and benefits. I work with my states forestry department we run Dozers, Handcrews, and Engines, we also have aircraft, we have plenty of young people coning into the industry. I worked previously in Structure Fire and EMS, I started getting more interest in wildland from some of Codys original videos on wildland fire and I dont agree with all of what he says in this video. He was a contractor for the USFS he never was fully employed with them. He also was a volunteer firefighter. So do not always believe everything you hear. He has also been outta the industry for awhile.
How much can she lift?
@@fedimusmaximus2454 she does ok with her 50lb horse fees sacks
@@ButtonsEntetainment thank you
Well Said!
We are all different (thank God) and have different needs. Your advice addressed this very well, I thought. Explore, try things out, do research. The community of people with whom you work is as important as the job you do.
I love the fan on the wood stove!!!
I’d really like to work as a mule packer for the forest service anybody got any advice or know of any pre requisites
This comment has nothing to do with this video but My wife and I love your videos and your views on life and family. You are a good role model, thank you.
I worked my later teenage years in the summer for the forest service while living in Joseph but glad I took my Dad’s advice & didn’t pursue a career. Fire are the only jobs available now-a-days.
Hey bud don't know why I had this random thought at work while I was tending a fire on a cool day. but do you think "ghost fires" could be caused by naturally made quick lime? i just remember from an old vid that it's made by burning limestone and that once crumbled up it's very reactive with water. They blame it on smoldering roots but a big fire burns deep and it would just take time and some water to create enough heat to start a fire! If there's limestone in the area.
Great advice. Dad worked a lot of fires and he has so many stories. I too job shadowed before I picked what I wanted to do. It helped a ton and has only helped me. Agreed about the beurocracy. Dad's agency went the same way. 30 years ago there was tons of time in the field. Now it's almost all paperwork. Nothing like it should be.
I new a man 10 years ago that had spent an entire career with the Forest Service. He got on their shitlist because he constantly was saving money that was needlessly being wasted.
If you want to spend a year or two cleaning vault toilets, chasing higher education and debt, for a job that simply doesn’t pay enough to raise a family, GET AT IT.
My brother was in a forestry camp in Bell county. Was trained and worked beside hotshots all while he was a state prisoner. he couldn't be a firefighter or work with the forestry service even after his record was expunged
Not quite how it works anymore. Trails is a great option too, especially front country as it acts like a regular job. Don't go above GS 7 and you'll be stay in the field.
I've never been in the forest service. Do they allow ride-alongs? Law enforcement usually does. It'll give a feel for it for sure.
No
Great advice thank you wranglerstar family 🤓👍🏽😁
Joining a volunteer fire dept near you is another good way we run brush fires with us and state forestry
I recommend that people not work for any of the giant bureaucratic agencies… FS, BLM, NPs are more concerned with wholeness as opposed to managing the land
It has been politicized, unfortunately
What is this fan you have mounted on your stove? Looks like it's being driven by the heat
It's like the military. A lot of different types of personalities, a lot of different types of jobs and way of doing things. Timber guys don't jive with fire guys who don't jive with wildlife and on and on. If you plan on making a career out of it you'll need to figure out how to navigate all those different personalities without pissin the wrong people off. If you do your job well, are consistent and get along with people you'll be alright. Every district has its own personality, find the one you fit in best with. Be tight with your FMOs and AFMOs and always be available. If you can make all these things fit together you won't just find a career you'll find a lifestyle. Remember also there are thousands of municipal depts always looking for experienced ex-feds if the big 3 aren't working for you. I even have a buddy that ended up on a repel crew in Costa Rica. He's married down there now and loves life. Much like the military most people only spend between 2 to 5 yrs with the Feds anyway. If you're a good fit they will let you know and do what they can to keep you. They will groom you and get you qualed up. You'll know after your second year if you belong there or not.
You should see the steel bands I made for my anvil stump.
If you're going to join the forest service get on a timber crew. FS fire crews are a jole. If you want to fight fire get on with the state
Hey I just wanted to tell you I saw you in an advertisement for solar panels on TH-cam. I'm guessing you didn't authorize the use of you in this commercial. Just letting you know. I recognize you because you're the US Forest Service guy. If I was ever screwed in the wilderness I'd want you to be there.
IDK Cody. Your description of the USFS doesn’t jibe with the direct reports from people I know. But, your mileage may vary. Now, with NPS you might not be in the field much-perhaps you have conflated the two agencies?
Where can I find that fan on the wood stove?
Retired 32 yrs. Good tip get into Fire Fighting. Don't bother working or a career with the FS without a 4 year degree!
The forest service gets a hardy middle finger from my perspective. I'm over it. They used to be people I would look up to, but as you said Cody, they are something now that is beyond saving.
hey can u do a review on the omniblade. its a machete and ax built in 1
I'm more committed to the cat in that chair than I am any current federal agency
Don't do it I've been with them for 23 years it was cool in the early days but now I'm 7 years out to retire and super bummed out that this job is a flop now I show up to work every day at 6am and nobody is around they all show up around 9 with there Dutch Bros a looking clueless it's a joke I just go out in the woods and try to make a difference sorry for the negativity I'm the oldest guy on the district and apparently I don't know anything about doing my own job .
Believe you me I like your response to the kid if he should join the US Forest Service. It's all about the paper trail in the forest.
I applied last year for a ground crew, and I have a college degree and experience. And they got back to me like 6 months later saying the position closed. Lol, what a joke.
You must mean fire handcrew. if you apply to a single area that is highly populated/popular you might not get the position. Plus we are going through hundreds of applications and will not be able to get back to all the applicants unless they reach out like you did close to the start date. I agree the hiring process is madness. they moved the temp hiring up to December this year. So about a 5 month wait to start a job in some areas.
I'd join the Forest Service
Solid advice
I like it very positive outlook. Not at all 😂 what I what I thought 🧐😨☠️ that would be death by fire 🔥🥳 free disposal if you will kinda natural but rare 🚒 case scenario stuff.
I tried to join the forest service back when I was 21...I had to take a Civil Service exam...was told that minorites and Vietnam vets would get an extra 20 points on thier test vs mine...
I scored very well...unfortunaltely since I was a white guy I didn't make the cut. SMH
That's great advice.
Ok so if you are a soft dude join fire crew, what about for the men?
The military is no different. More bureaucratic tape everywhere and woke illness seeping into every aspect. I got out in 2018 just as that bubble burst. Just a stroke of luck that I missed the barracks lockdowns, mandatory vax, and turning the medical corps on its head. Best thing to do is go for anything in the skilled trades. There will almost never be a shortage for plumbers, electricians, welders, mechanics-car & ag machinery, etc.
That is all you have to say
about that 🤨?
Thank you for the great videos Cody.
You weren’t even a USFS employee 😂
Mama Kitty ♥♥♥♥♥, treats and tummy rubs.
I worked for the USFS for 16 years, I wouldn't join these days. Be an entrepreneur.
I thought it was all contracted out
Since they fired you of course you wouldn't support it.
I think it was decades ago that when it granted logging companies access to PUBLIC lands . It was said that it wrongfully at taxpayer expense made roads to these areas for them .
The FS has always had logging contractors harvest timber on their lands. The entire reason the FS was founded was to sustainably manage forest resources. Timber harvest sequesters carbon, simulates rural economies, and provides secondary manufactures with timber products. Multiple uses management has grown the Forest Service's responsibilities. At the peak over 18 billion board feet were sustainably harvested from the FS lands, since the 80's that number has significantly decreased. They maybe harvest 2 billion board feet a year now. Some food for thought, you hardly see wild fires on private industrial land.
This is going to make me cry
JOIN THE BIA, BEST ELITE WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS
Your cat looks a lot like mine :)
Only if you want to be forced to take the clot shot....
They fire theor employees for employees letting their kids wear their hard hats.
That's so wrong.
The forest service is one of the most corrupt beurocratic departments in my experience
The library and mail service is the only thing the us government has done right.
how's the pay tho?
Fire pay is a lot of OT and hazard pay. If you dont get OT...pay is low
Wouldn't join any federal agency
I'm in the army bro. The bureaucracy and other cultural parasites/diseases that plague the US Forest Service are not isolated. The military is just as sick with the same cancers.
ok
No one asked you
@@bobbyboy6614 You must be one of those Bootlickers.
There is your town, state, county. Yes, never get a government job. You might even have health insurance, and never back a guy like Bernie Sanders.
Btw, what do you have against the army?
I could never work for the government. I love freedom too much. Freedom is freedom from government.
I was in the boy scouts and forest service and I'd rather be a boy scout 😂
and UNESCO basically controls our parks
No thanks. No federal jobs.. they're the first to get laid off.
You will be working for women.
I purchased a farm with a forest swamp and Marsh the United States Department of Defense the United States Department of the Pentagon the United States Department of the Navy arranged for me to land my aircraft on an aircraft carrier so that I could repair the reactor in Yemen I was taken hostage in prisoner of war I was only in Yemen to repair the reactor with inspector repair after I took a test and passed the test for the United States Department of Defense subcontractor inspector that repairs reactor with inspector repair I am a licensed fishermen and Hunter and have had licensing to fish and hunt in the past but I had no intentions of anyone ever hunting or fishing on my property I also had no intentions of their ever being any commercial construction or any construction on my property other than the farmhouse home and Barnes or are greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables I did speak to a forestry officer in the past about my wildlife birds my eagles owls Hawks p the beavers the Badgers and the five squirrels that I rescued squirrels live to be 100 years old and it is a felony to murder an eagle it is also a felony to murder an owl are squirrels do squirrels are rescued were 28 years old and had 53 year old babies and they murdered them and taxidermy them and doves and an eagle a taxidermy them and place them in their yards as yard ornaments I returned from being held hostage and prisoner of war to find that my fences were down my Gates were down my green silos had been removed my farm had a makeshift school being built on it and a Walmart neighborhood market and supposedly or ramshackle houses built on my property that I purchased I didn't ever stop making my payments I paid for the insurance and I paid for a wildlife protection insurance and when I was going to him and I paid the United States forestry Department the Tennessee highway patrol the Kentucky highway patrol the Clarksville Montgomery County Sheriff's department and the trade County Sheriff's Department and I don't understand why it is that my property hasn't been protected and why all of this ramshackle is on my property I want all of this rain shackle structures removed and all of the so-called asphalt and concrete streets and driveways removed from my property and I want all of these criminals removed from my property D Anna Hensley Hawkins
Join the DOJ and make it honest again. 🤪
Could you please do a video showing the best way to store chainsaws inside the shop? I put mine in the corner of the shop on the floor and there is always a huge puddle of oil after a day or so
Sad that this is the case. Forests are not managed they are “managed.” Look at the forests on the Navajo and Apache reservations, THEY are managed!
I would support and encourage anyone wanting to try a career w/the USDA
Especially if your ok with and or enjoy the outdoors and being alone at times. The muppets spouting antigovernment BS are just that muppets. Blaze your own path and see if its something you enjoy. If its something thats peaked your interest there’s a reason explore it and check it off your list in life. If your young and willing to travel the sky’s the limit for you.
Lmao im convinced he never worked for the forest service
yeah all that talk sounds a little dated and just "talk"
Nice to see Wranglerstar getting back to his roots, grinding an axe.... ;)
Don't you have to have a 4 year degree?!?!
So many forest service jobs anymore want some useless degree and will pay you less than minimum wage
I was told I was to white to get hired.
Here comes the bitter grapes… you do them dirty now, eh?
Forest Circus is lame
sign me up
Reading comments this service sounds like any government job, including the military! Good job in places that the local economy failed the ppl.
Most conservatives work for the government. You know teachers, cops, sanitation, fixed roads, clean drinking water, you know the stuff everyone hates!
Local jobs are great, flip burgers, farm hands, and the like. Your kids leave town to get to use the collage degree, then fall in with bad crowd 😂!
Fire and the Natural Resources department is COMPLETELY different. It's all about what you and the group you're in make it.
I personally experience significant creative freedom in how I manage forests and that came from the trust I built.
The only people who are in the office all the time are GS-11s and most of them choose that.
Hell to the no. To the no no no.
Fire crew=dream job.