I think that it has to do with my age, the fact that either my friends have gone ahead and gotten married or are in the process of getting married. It is just natural. For me now, at this stage of my life, married seems a long way away. But with so many things you experience it when you least expect it.
I can't speak for all of you but I feel that my friends do represent at least a certain part of our society. And though I am certain that things may look different where you live. ~25 is a common age to get married. I am still studying, and I tend to move around a lot, with my "permanent residence" still marked as my parent's home. Mainly since I do not want to spend more money on an apartment that I will rarely use. Anyone that has gone through the programs I have, who has realized that their true love is the forest, and has chosen to make it their career knows that it can be disruptive for close relationships. Dating is sort of out for the foreseeable future.
I have two friends that married while still studying, and it has worked out very well for them. Another friend just got married a couple of months ago in a really beautiful open air summer wedding. And now, I have another wedding coming up later this fall. Since all of my friends share similar interests as I do, though not necessarily the same career path, it goes without saying that nature, and namely the forest has been (at least to some extent represented) in their weddings.
But is that common.
For me, this is perfect, it is everything that I expected a wedding to be.
My Dream Wedding In the Trees
I seriously never thought about my wedding. I guess you could say that I was always a little different.
When I was maybe eleven or twelve I remember being over at my best friend's house. She and her sister, myself, and another friend sat in her room and talked, this was common. But the topic turned toward boys, dating, and marriage. I recall feeling a little bit put on the spot since I had never really thought of what they called their "dream wedding." Seriously, how could you plan your dream wedding even before you met your Mr. Right?
It was awkward and I remember stuttering around and making something silly up. It was going to be a big white wedding with lots of Cala Lilies and this and that. And in essences I wasn't being true to myself. Since even at that age, none of those things really expressed who I was. I could have been more honest, but I would have gotten laughed at. As it stood I was just the uncreative one out of the group. The one that was going to have the generic white wedding. And I was fine with that.
In truth I wasn't even sure if I was going to get married. It just never seemed like something that I had on my todo list. It was on my maybe list.
Now, older (at least a little bit) and more mature (at least a little bit) I realize that I would very much like to get married some day and start a family.
And while I am not in the process of planning my dream wedding I would be lying if I told you I had not made some thoughts about it.
The real reason that it has come up for me so much is because I have experienced so many in the last couple of years. It is one thing to talk about them when you are kids, it is another to be there, to experience it first hand, and to see how happy your friends are.
It really is a magical moment for them, and as a guest you get to experience a little bit of it yourself. I have been really blessed with wonderful friends and I was thankful for the chance to be there and celebrate their happiness and things like that are contagious. I ended up getting caught up in the whole thing.
I guess that it is normal. At least it is when you hear people talk. So I guess I am like the rest of the girls I know.
My Woodland Wedding
I think that I was born in the right time. When my mother got married she really did have the white wedding. She married her first boyfriend and they had stayed together throughout high school and college and then, once they graduated they got married. A couple of years later I was born. It was the romance that we all dream about. It was one that you see idealized in movies and TV, just that their's is real, and it is just as strong today as it was then.
As I had said though, the white wedding just really isn't me. And while as nice as my mom's wedding was I really couldn't see myself in the same situation. But do I really have to be?
I say no.
Today there is so much variety, so many different ways "to get married" that it almost feels like you could get overwhelmed if you didn't have an idea of what you wanted for your big day.
And I most certainly do.
As you may have noticed from my site I am rather obsessed with nature. And more specifically the forest. It really is a glorious gift from God and it is a resource that needs to be cared for. That said I really like the way some wedding take a more rustic look. I could totally see myself with a flower crown in some fancy, yet practical dress. You can get pretty much anything you want for a wedding; invitations with a rustic woodland theme are easy to find depending on what you want to emphasis in them. And on top of that, the outdoor wedding is more common today than it has been in a long time.
It all depends on what you want to do.
There are plenty of options you just have to know what you want. Master of Forestry is a two year coursework based masters and tends to be catered towards people who have a bachelor's in a different field. If you have a bachelor's in natural resources, it would be possible to finish the degree in one year. Depending on what you want to do, your options range from getting an AS in Forest Technology to getting a BS in Forestry to getting an MF (Masters of Forestry).
As you would expect, job prospects are much higher with an Master of Forestry. Most Masters programs are meant to be completed in 2 years, but without experience in things like dendrology (tree ID) it could take you at least an extra year to get caught up with the basics before you can really delve into Master's level forestry studies.
Getting in to the field is easy, getting the position you really want is another thing entirely.
Universities
I can't stress enough that university shouldn't be your only route to research.
The Thompson School
The professors at the University of New Hampshire write the SAF standards for all SAF accredited schools.
The Thompson school owns a Timberjack cable skidder, brand new CAT 574 forwarder, professional sawmill, grapple truck, and industrial wood chipper. You'll learn how to manage a forest, harvest a forest, mill products from that forest, grade wood products, climb trees, write a professional forest management plan, write and manage a controlled burn and draw maps using a tape and compass.
The professors also own the equipment that make it possible for Stihl to put on the lumberjack competitions.
Oregon State University
Oregon State University has an excellent College of Forestry. Multiple family members of mine are graduates with successful careers. Their forest engineering program has money, excellent teachers, and smack dab in the middle of some good timber.
Oregon state is probably best in the west, but if you want to stay in the south there are probably better schools
University of Montana
University of Montana has one of the most respected forestry schools around. They actually own a very large experimental forest right by the University.
Additionally with all the forest service land around its relatively easy to get seasonal forestry work. Added bonus, Missoula is an awesome college town.
Wageningen University
If you're feeling adventurous, Wageningen University in the Netherlands offers an excellent Bsc (and Msc) that combines forestry with wider nature management and a solid policy/society perspective.
You wouldn't be the first American and it's a very internationally oriented university. Good facilities and most courses are taught in English!
In North America historical Forestry and logging mainly tried to make as much money by cutting as much top tier quality lumber as possible.
Forestry is a tool, it can be used for bad or good, you simply need to know how to use it.
One suggestion I would make that is really applicable to all branches of forestry is to take a couple of courses in GIS if you haven't already. Competence in GIS is something that can help you to stand out among other applicants for many forestry (or natural resource) jobs.
Another suggestion is that communication skills can play a crucial role in a forestry career. You would be surprised how import dispute management and conflict resolution are for many forestry jobs.
Courses in public speaking are a common requirement for undergraduate forestry majors. At the graduate level, a course in conflict resolution might be helpful, again regardless of the specific branch of forestry you end up finding employment in.
Also, another super important thing to keep in mind- even in forestry/natural resources management, the unfortunate reality is that as you advance through your career, that jobs you have are going to be more and more likely to have relatively little field time.
Today Forestry and logging are generally much more sustainable and environmentally friendly and there are foresters that do a lot more than oversee logging operations. Still, don't fool yourself into thinking any extraction is beneficial for the environment.
The jobs with the greatest amount of field work are nearly always the ones that pay the least.
Unless you're willing to stick with entry level positions the rest of your life, there's a good chance that over time you may find yourself working more and more in an office setting with each advancement.
But in general foresters are land managers and stewards, researchers and data collectors, policy makers and regulatory enforcers. And sometimes loggers.
Urban Forest Management
Urban forest management is really growing. Trees are being constantly attacked by new diseases and insects constantly. Urban trees are worth a lot of many to private land owners and municipalities alike.
Lots of people are required to do the legwork, analyse the data and develop programs to manage these trees.
Wood Science
Wood science is more about how to use wood; finding novel ways to use the material and improve on systems that already do.
Its the field that is allowing us to build 20 story buildings out of wood alone, or create biologically sourced products.
Park management
Park management is a solid field to work in. Earnings can be initially low (20K to 40k), as you will likely have to start in either front line work (think warden, data collection or maintenance) or in an office as a support role in mapping and/or GIS.
Earning is as much as any government employee can earn; enough to live on, even be prosperous on and have disposable income after a few years, but you'll never drive a ferrari. Senior positions come close to the 60K a year mark. A highly motivated person can make 6 figures as an independent forester/timber cruiser.
Today forestry comes down to either logging, rehabbing post logging, monitoring disease/bugs timber scaling, or fighting fire.
Sometimes all of the above except scaling, which is usually a third party type deal.
