How To Become A Forest Officer? Qualification, Process, Work And Salary

A Forest Officer: We all know how important the environment is for all of us, and forests play the most important role in its balance. Without them, pollution will spread rapidly across the earth, and people will wander from place to place for their basic needs. The government of our country appoints forest officers to protect the forests and the animals living there.

If you also love the environment, then this career will be suitable for you. Today we will tell you how to become a forest officer, give you the required qualifications, and provide all other necessary information.

Through this job, you will always be connected to the environment and will also get a chance to live amidst nature, far away from the dusty life of the city. We will help you in every possible way so that no questions are left in your mind. Read this article till the end and start preparing for the exam.

Who Is Called the Forest Officer? 

Just like there are officers in other departments, in the same way, forest officers are also appointed for the protection of the environment. This is a government post, that works under the Environment Ministry of the Central and State Governments.

Forest Office officers are of Grade B level, and to get this post, one has to appear for the UPSC exam. They are given full responsibility for the forests and the creatures living there, and they are also responsible for catching those who break forest conservation laws.

What Is The Job Of A Forest Officer?

Before appearing for any post-exam, you must know whether you will be able to do that work. A forest officer has to do a lot of work and also has to remain alert most of the time. Before strengthening your preparation, you will have to get information about what work will have to be done next.

• A forest survey has to be done, and information about trees, plants, and animals has to be recorded in the records.
• It is our job to prevent pets from grazing on protected lands.
• It is our responsibility to take care of the safety and treatment of wild animals.
• It is our job to make new plans for the development of the forest and to plant trees.
• The forest officer has to guide along with assistants.
• In the event of a fire, immediate extinguishing is our responsibility.
• Construction and repair of bridges, roads, canals, and dams are entrusted to us.
• Our job is to stop illegal logging and hunting.
• We have to deploy forest guards at various places.
• It is our responsibility to keep an eye on the electricity and telephone wires.
• We must stay alert and avoid carelessness in the forest.
• It is our job to put up prohibition boards for the safety of wild people.
• The care of the fences and roads is entrusted to us.
• It is our responsibility to investigate and protect the animals.
• We get lower-ranked employees to help us protect the forest.

Qualification To Become a Forest Officer 

Now you need to know who is eligible. This exam is not for every person, you have to get complete information to know your eligibility.

1. Citizenship Qualification

A citizen of any other country is ineligible for this exam. If you are originally a resident of India, only then can you apply for the form. Apart from this, refugee citizens from countries like Nepal, and Bhutan are also allowed to appear for the examination only based on their eligibility criteria provided by the government.

2. Recruitment Age Limit

Now no child or old citizen can participate in this recruitment. An age limit has been fixed for this, about which it is important to know. The minimum age of the candidate should be 21 years and the maximum age should be 35 years. If you belong to the SC/ST category, you are given a relaxation of 5 years. Whereas if you are OBC, then there is a rule of three years of relaxation. Defense service personnel are also given a relaxation of up to 5 years and disabled people are also given a relaxation of 10 years.

3. Educational Qualification

You will be eligible only if you have a graduation degree from any recognized university. Not every subject is given a chance here, following are some of the subjects that can be given in this examination.

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Botany
• zoology
• Mathematics
• Geology
• Statistics
• Veterinary Science
• Engineering (Any Branch)

4. Physical Ability

In this case, the rules change every year, so you will have to keep an eye on the notification. In the physical, your height, weight, and chest width are measured. Whereas only height and weight are demanded of women,. You have to keep yourself updated on all the details and read the form before filling it out.

5. Exam Attempt 

You cannot appear in this exam multiple times, a fixed number of attempts have been kept for different categories. If you belong to the general category, you can take this exam only 6 times. If you are an OBC candidate, you have 9 chances. Apart from this, no limit has been set for SC/ST and disabled. However, no candidate can appear for the exam after crossing the age limit.

Forest Officer, How To Become? Know The Whole Process

You have known so much, so now it is your turn to learn about its process. You have to follow many steps, and only then will you achieve success in the end.

1. Fill out The UPSC IFOS Form

• The IFOS application form issued by UPSC has to be filled out first.
• An application should be made if age and educational qualifications permit.
• Keep an eye on the official site of the UPSC and wait for the application link.
• Fill out the form online and choose a preference of IAS, IPS, or IFOS.
• The form link is activated on the UPSC site, check it carefully.
• Fill out the online form to give preference, there is a single form for IAS, IPS, and IFOS.
• Apply together for UPSC as well as IAS, IPS, and IFOS.

2. Appear In Prelims Exam

• After filling out the form, an admit card is sent in months, showing your exam center.
• Objective questions in prelims determine the cut-off marks for passing.
• Information about the place and time of the exam is available on the admit card.
• The required marks for success have to be achieved.

3. Give Mains Exam

• After passing the prelims, you will have to appear for the mains exam.
• There are six papers in which there are questions from 4 subjects.
• 2 subjects are decided by the department, and 2 subjects have to be chosen by you.
• Choose the subject according to your capability, otherwise, preparation may be difficult.
• Choose according to your ability so that you can get success in the examination.

4. Go To The Interview

• If you get selected in Mains, work hard for the interview.
• Answer the questions about yourself, your graduation subject, and general questions calmly and accurately.
• It is necessary to answer every question soberly and accurately.
• All efforts and correct answers are important for success.

5. Document Verification

• After passing the interview, one is called for further processing.
• In the last stage, document verification takes place and the original papers are brought.
• You also undergo medical and physical examinations.
• Information about the crime and case is obtained before police verification.
• Your final selection takes place when all the documents are correct.
• After training, one gets complete information about the work of the department.
• After this, after a few months of training, your final form takes place.

What Is The Pattern Of the Forest Officer Exam?

After understanding every step of the exam, you should also collect information about its pattern. There are two written examinations, for which there are different patterns, and we are going to talk about them here. The details of the syllabus for both exams will be available from the updated syllabus available on the official site.

1. Prelims Exam 

In Prelims, you are asked multiple choice questions, in which 4-5 options are given. You have to choose the right one, if you do something wrong then there is a negative marking. In these questions, you are asked General Knowledge, English, Mathematics, and reasoning. The marks obtained in this are not added to the final merit list, it is only a qualifying exam. Only those who are selected in this examination are selected for Mains.

2. Mains Exam

For Mains, a total of six papers have to be given, which is taken in four stages. To help you, we will tell you all one by one.

• In Paper 1, you will have to give an English exam, in which total questions of 300 marks are asked. This exam is subjective and 3 hours is given to solve it.
• General knowledge questions are asked in Paper 2 examination. In this, questions have to be solved about India’s forests, animals, geography, politics, economics, etc. This is also of 300 marks, and 3 hours are given to prepare the questions.
• Paper 3 and 4 are questions from the subject chosen by you, which are asked in two papers. These are two different letters on the same subject. Including both, the total question comes for 200 marks and 3 hours are given to solve it.
• Paper 5 and 6 are also papers of the second subject of your choice. This is also asked in two phases and a total of 200 questions are given, the time duration is also only 3 hours.

What Is The Salary Of Forest Officer?

There are different posts of forest officers, those working at the lower ranks are given less salary and increases as they go up. Their minimum salary is Rs 56,100 and the maximum goes up to Rs 2,25,000.

This also keeps changing every new year, so get information about the year in which you will give the exam from the PDF.

Conclusion:

If you want a government job and dream of living in green places, then you should become a forest officer. Today we have told you how to become a forest officer, what is their job, which exam has to be given and what is the pattern is. If you have any further questions after this, you can satisfy your curiosity with the help of a comment box. If you want to read such articles, then stay connected with us and keep increasing your knowledge.