Arborist training certification????

[whitepine]

Hi A young man asked me what I knew about arborist training he is interested in it and I know nothing about that so thought I could get some answers here. He wants to know  do they certify arborists,  can you home study for the certification ( he works for a tree/landscape business)  is a certification worth getting, How do you go about getting certified. Thanks

[Ron Scott]

To be certified, Arborists often have a degee in Forestry or Urban Forestry and are certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).

[Kevin]

Here's a link ...
http://www.isa-arbor.com/certification/certification.aspx

[Mike_Barcaskey]

don't need a degree, just pass the ISA test

[JJackson]

You also need 3 years experience to be a certified arborist with the ISA.  You can test for your tree workers certification with 18 months experience (climbing)

[Mike_Barcaskey]

you are correct JJackson

[Phorester]

You also have to keep up your certification by earning 30 credits in continuing arborist education every 3 years, or you lose the Certification. 

In addition to regular in-the-woods forestry, I do a lot of yard tree problem diagnosis, pruning advice, planting advice, etc, so I decided to get certified with ISA a few years ago for the extra knowledge and to add to my credibility when working with homeowners.    Boys, I'll tell ya - it's one of the hardest tests I've ever taken.  I studied for it religiously for a month before taking it.  The guy said GO!, I put my head down, started marking answers,  and didn't look up until a couple hours later.  I was physically drained when I got done. Having a degree in Forestry isn't required, but it certainly helped with the test.

It's a good designation for any tree worker to get.  If I was in that business I'd get it and advertise the hell out of it.  Because of what you have to know to get this certification and to keep it, those that have it are a long ways ahead in providing services to their clients.