Date: May 18, 2017 from 10:00-12:00pm
Title: Understanding the Urban Forest Job Market
Speaker: Keith O’Herrin, Ph.D., City Forestry, Highland Park
Location: Village of Lombard, 255 E. Wilson Road, Lombard, IL
Summary: Keith O’Herrin, Ph.D. (City Forestry, Highland Park) will present the results of his dissertation research completed at Virginia Tech in December. He studied the urban forestry profession itself to determine possible solutions to many problems reported by urban foresters including lack of professional identity, mixed relations with other types of professions, and inconsistent recruitment. Keith analyzed job postings to understand the current urban forestry job market, chart out what a career ladder in the profession currently looks like, and identify problems with that career ladder. He surveyed over 1,000 college students to determine their previous knowledge of urban forestry and then, after showing them a video about urban forestry as a career, determined their new perception of urban forestry as a career. Finally, Keith determined what kind of structure and organization is seen in other professions including civil engineering, landscape architecture, and urban planning to see if those examples might work in urban forestry. He also surveyed professionals in those fields to determine how important things like certification and professional societies are to them and their career.
RSVP for Lunch: Email April at april@illinoisarborist.org or call her at 877-617-8887. Cost for lunch is $10.00.
