Career Prospects in Forestry
The School of Forestry offers programmes that have a focused forestry content and consequently are relevant to employers. We know this because the employers tell us so and also we are heartened by the increasing acceptance of our graduates in some other countries in peference to their own. While we retain a solid core, there are always new developments.
We are seeing an increasing awareness in New Zealand and elsewhere of the diverse roles that forests play. Forests have long been seen as important for the New Zealand economy - forest products make up 10% of total exports. However, forests are now being seen as important because of their environmental and social benefits. Carbon sequestration, erosion reduction, water quality improvement and better biodiversity outcomes are some of the environmental benefits from forests. For example, the Emissions Trading Scheme recently announced by the Government has carbon sequestration by plantations as its centrepiece.
These developments create additional research opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as employment prospects for our graduates. It is an exciting time to be doing a degree at the New Zealand School of Forestry.
Career prospects for students with forestry degrees obtained in New Zealand are excellent, both domestically and internationally. Students in a grduating year find full time employment if they are seeking it when they complete their degree, with starting salaries generally in the range of $41-52,000, with additional incentives such as a car depending on the role. Those students not seeking employment straight away are generally undertaking additional study or enjoying their OE.
Students at the School of Forestry gain a wide range of skills that equip them to work in many different kinds of forest ecosystems with a variety of management or conservation objectives. The University of Canterbury houses New Zealand's only professional forestry school, dedicated to excellence in forest research and education. If you are interested in a forestry career then you should enrol at Canterbury.