Onboarding plan
Forestry and Conservation Professor Onboarding Plan (30-60-90 Days)
A practical, printable plan to take a new forestry and conservation professor from first day to full productivity.
Forestry and Conservation Professor onboarding at a glance
Week one covers orientation, safety and shadowing. Days 1–30 build vocabulary and supervised practice on core procedures; days 31–60 move to independent work with competency sign-offs; days 61–90 focus on full productivity, cross-training and a credential plan.
Before day one
- Confirm start date, schedule, pay and supervisor in writing
- Verify required credentials: Ph.D. in forestry or ecology, Certified Forester (SAF) (as applicable)
- Prepare equipment and access: field measurement tools; GIS and remote sensing; drones; statistical software
- Assign a buddy or preceptor
- Enroll the new hire in Forestry and Conservation Professor training so foundations are covered before or during week one
Week one: orient and protect
- Workplace tour, emergency procedures and incident reporting
- Plan for field hazards
- Carry first aid and communication
- Follow vehicle and chainsaw safety
- Protect student privacy
- Shadow an experienced forestry and conservation professor through a full shift
- Training modules 1–3: role foundations, a day on the job and essential vocabulary (15 terms)
Days 1–30: learn
Goal: perform core tasks safely under supervision.
- Supervised practice: teach tree measurement in the field
- Supervised practice: plan a safe field trip
- Supervised practice: partner with a land management agency
- Training modules 4–7: duties, step-by-step tasks, tools and safety
- 30-day check-in: confidence, questions and early wins
Days 31–60: contribute
Goal: handle a regular workload independently.
- Teach forestry and conservation courses: independently
- Lead field labs: independently
- Conduct research: independently
- Partner with agencies: independently
- Competency sign-offs completed (see checklist below)
- Training final knowledge check and certificate of completion
- 60-day check-in
Days 61–90: own
Goal: full productivity and a growth plan.
- Meet productivity and quality targets for the role
- Begin cross-training on a secondary task
- Agree on a credential goal (for example, Ph.D. in forestry or ecology)
- Discuss the career path: Graduate Researcher → Assistant Professor → Associate Professor
- 90-day review
Competency checklist
| Skill or task | Trained | Observed | Signed off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach Tree Measurement in the Field | |||
| Plan a Safe Field Trip | |||
| Partner with a Land Management Agency | |||
| Forest ecology | |||
| Field methods | |||
| GIS | |||
| Statistics |
How to measure onboarding success
- Time to independent classroom work
- Observation and evaluation scores
- Licensing or compliance findings
- First-year retention
How Forestry and Conservation Professor training maps to this plan
- Introduction to the Forestry and Conservation Professor Role
- A Day on the Job
- Essential Forestry and Conservation Professor Vocabulary
- Core Duties and Responsibilities
- Common Tasks, Step by Step
- Tools, Equipment and Technology
- Safety, Compliance and Professional Standards
- Skills Employers Look For
- Launching Your Forestry and Conservation Professor Career
- Final Knowledge Check