BCMA tests on practical knowledge of consulting arb. With your apparent level of expertise, you'd only need to brush up on your weak areas, pay the $350, and take the test. The CEU's are fairly painless to get over time.
For an M.S., budget min. 2 yrs and $XX,000.00. Yes it may qualify you to teach in the U system, but you can do a lot of education outside of that system. If you have a topic that you are hot to explore as a thesis, and a prof you want to explore it with, and a job you may want that requires that ticket to be punched, it may be worthwhile.
Why not get the BCMA, then design an Independent Study course in your area of interest with a willing professor, and see how that goes?
Hey, Teacher, leave those kids alone!
Or maybe teachers can stand back a little and watch over students teaching themselves, as long as they are ready. Colleges offer Independent Study and Special Topics options for students who want to study “outside the box” by looking into a particular question that is not covered in a course. Some recent examples of Independent Study topics that arborists have undertaken: “What is the nature of wood decay, and can it be managed?”, “How do sprouts grow from the end of a broken branch, and can they be trained into safe branches?”, and “What are the most important insect pests in our state, and how can we control them?” There are only two ingredients needed for successful projects: a motivated student with a plan, and a faculty member (often a former professor of the student) who is willing to guide it. Independent Study can be very rewarding, leading to journal publications and grants from the TREE Fund and other sources.
All in all its just another brick in the wall…
Or maybe it’s a load of CEU bricks that help build the wall that holds up your arborist certification. The ISA Certification Board approved some changes in the CEU policy effective as of July 1, 2005. Previously, college courses were worth 10 credits, or 15 with a laboratory component. College courses are now worth 10 CEU's per credit hour. For example, a 3-hour college course is now worth 30 CEUs. Do the math—one college course can now satisfy about three years of certification. This may or may not be overrated in proportion with other CEU opportunities, depending on the course and the work that goes into it. Of course, you can never earn too many CEUs. As always, college course work must be at an academically accredited 2-year or 4-year institution.
Human capital works to increase growth and enable enrichment for the employee, just as equipment capital such as trucks and tools work for the employer. Today, we consider human capital as the sum of education, natural talent, training, and experience. These fundamental assets fill the fountain from which future fortunes flow. Adding to our education is like depositing money in the bank. This process of training the brain and accumulating knowledge can be envisioned as stacking bricks of gold in our own personal Fort Knox. Shigo again: “Remember, ‘learn’ has ‘earn’ in it. The more you learn, the more you earn.” Education earns interest as it’s called upon to help us deal with new job challenges. Unlike trucks and tools and other forms of capital, it keeps increasing in value.
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall.
But that doesn’t mean there are bricks in your head. Climbing trees and other physical aspects of arboriculture can be fun and profitable, but if you start exercising your mental muscles early in your career, you can continue to experience upward mobility even after your body tells you to get down from the trees. This article has highlighted just a few of the many programs of higher education that are available to those who want to grow into the business of tree care. Shop around for different higher education opportunities before you register. Be sure you’re barking up the right tree, or you may wind up howling on the dark side of the moon!
Training and education are the “meat” of any career, building muscles with the strength to advance. We in the tree business are envied for our ability to enjoy what we are doing, but we know that enjoyment is dessert, like chocolate pudding after we have eaten a nutritious meal.
How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?