Ethan Emick

Ethan Emick is a Technical Manager for EP Carbon, a consulting company that helps develop and manage forest-based carbon offset projects.

I have had an affinity for trees since I was a kid and as a high school student I worked selling trees at multiple nurseries. I also took a night school class in natural resources management.

A vital part of my career choice was the field experiences and the diversity of education options in the forestry program. The Ecosystem Services class is what introduced me to REDD+. Dr Finley’s data analysis course is what lead me to be interested in data analysis for forestry applications, which is a large part of my current role.

I worked for the forest service for 2 years in undergrad as a Forestry Tech over the summers. This is still instrumental in my job today as it gave me real world experience and having this experience opened up a lot of doors coming out of undergrad. I highly recommend all forestry students pursue summer jobs as forestry techs with the state, federal, or consulting companies.

My master’s degree has been instrumental in me getting and being successful in my current position. My degree and connections at MSU forestry opened this up to me. My advisor was an MSU alum, Chad Babcock, and I would not have been successful in finding a master’s program without the guidance, support and recommendation of Dr. Andy Finley.

As a Technical Manager at EP Carbon, an average work day consists of conducting tasks related to forest carbon accounting, ecosystem modeling, geospatial analysis and writing, meeting with clients and stakeholders, and serving as a technical expert on carbon modeling and remote sensing.

I enjoy applying my degrees in forestry to real world tasks that help combat climate change. I enjoy doing technical work the most (modeling, carbon accounting, geospatial analysis). I feel proud to be able to provide solutions to climate change and help to restore and protect forests and forest communities in developing economies while providing sustainable livelihood solutions to said forest communities.

My Advice

Forestry is a very diverse field, and the career paths and opportunities are endless; from working in cities as an urban forester, a field forester, working in forest carbon, research, and more. Forestry is the most secure degree and career path in natural resources as there is a business component to sustainably managing forests for timber or carbon offsets.

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