8 MISC. PUBLICATION 249, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
promotions, as are other key positions in the Service. The length of time 
a technically trained man may spend in subordinate positions before he 
becomes a district ranger will vary both with individual qualifications and 
with the opportunities offered. 
After appointment in the Forest Service, a forestry graduate should expect 
to spend from 1 to 2 years as a junior forester. ‘The first year of service is 
the probationary period, an extension of the examining process. ‘Those who 
are not adapted to practical forestry work are separated from the Service 
during this period. ‘Those who are retained beyond the 1-year period are 
ordinarily promoted to more responsible positions such as assistant district 
ranger, where training continues. From 3 to 10 years may elapse before 
the appointee is promoted to a district ranger position. 
One line of advancement may lead the young forester from an assistant 
ranger position to district ranger, then assistant forest supervisor, from which 
he may advance to a supervisor’s position. Additional promotions may 
eventually take him to the regional forester’s office or even higher. 
Another line of progress may be from technical assistant on a forest ranger 
district to technician on the supervisor’s staff, followed by assignment as 
technician for an entire region. Other lines of promotion may be taken in 
the research field—starting, for example, as a technical assistant and ad- 
vancing to project leader or specialist on some phase of the experimental 
work, or to a staff position at a forest and range experiment station. In 
State and private cooperation, a young forester is usually assigned to farm 
forestry or similar cooperative work only after some preliminary experience. 
He may advance to regional or headquarters staff positions in this field. 
Varying combinations of these lines of promotion may be applied in indi- 
vidual cases. ‘To broaden his knowledge and experience, a man may be 
assigned at different times to national forest administration and to research 
or cooperative work. ‘Thorough technical training and wide experience are 
now considered prerequisite to success in the higher positions. 
The career idea is thus carried out by advancement within the Service as 
men become more proficient in their work. Forest supervisors, assistant 
supervisors, and regional and national officers are men who have come up 
through the ranks. 
Special Assignments and Positions 
Technical assistants to the ranger may be assigned to fire control, road 
and trail construction, timber culture, or other special jobs. Similarly, 
staff technicians directly under the forest supervisor may also be assigned 
to any one of these functions on the entire forest: Fire control, watershed 
protection, timber plans and sales, wildlife, range management, improve- 
ments of various kinds, timber culture, recreation, flood and erosion control, 
or general technical work. 
Experts for technical positions in a number of other lines of work in the 
Forest Service are recruited by special civil-service examinations. ‘There 
are many of these jobs, such as: Forest ecologists, entomologists, pathol- 
ogists, soil scientists, engineers in timber tests, chemical engineers, and wood 
technologists. Clerks, stenographers, accountants, and similar office workers 
are likewise appointed from civil-service registers established through the 
regular examinations for such positions. 
