forester

utility worker

field technician

arborist

lineperson

Davey Resource Group

For DRG, I worked as a Utility Vegetation Management Technician, which required us to screen electric distribution systems and utility equipment to look for potentially hazardous trees that could cause an outage or damage equipment. Once identified and measured, we then worked with property owners to accomplish the necessary tree work.

The position is great for those looking to work mostly outdoors. The ratio of office:outdoors work for me was about 25:75, and most days were spent working outdoors. The hours were very flexible. Management did not really care how you spaced out your 40 hours per week, just as long as you reached your 40. Typically, I worked an hour or two of office work in the morning, went into the field to do work, and then did additional office work at home at the end of the day. I did enjoy this flexibility because you can usually work four 10-hour shifts, and have a 3 day weekend, or if you're not feeling well or need a break, you can take a day in the middle of the week. You are a lone worker and most of your hours will be spent alone, which can be a pro and a con.

It's a great position to learn about tree hazard risks, utility equipment, electrical distribution, and tree biology. For someone who loves trees and likes talking about trees to others, this was a great position to really improve your tree ID skills, and develop an increased appreciation and passion for trees. 

It's a good position if you like a changing work environment. You will work in or visit various towns, suburbs and communities throughout your area, and you're typically never in one spot for too long. 

You will develop good people skills, as this position requires you engage with many homeowners and property owners to discuss tree-related work near utility equipment and to obtain permit forms. You will acquire problem solving skills, as hiccups certainly arise with customers or with tree crews or other management. 

When storms greatly impact utility equipment, you can work to resolve storm tickets that homeowners file, and will be paid overtime or double time depending on when the storm occurs and how many hours you've already worked that week. While these hours can be long, I added probably $3,000-4,000 more dollars onto my pay just from working storm.

You are typically given a work truck, which you can park at your home. Therefore, you don't have to commute to an office or a center to pick up your truck in the morning, and you are essentially stationed out of your home. This was a big plus for me. You are typically working alone as a lone worker, so it can get a bit lonely sometimes. I really enjoyed the occasions where I got to work with co-workers.

Management was super, super understanding and helpful in this position though. In addition to great flexibility, the management are friendly, helpful and typically don't demand unreasonable things from you. I was having a rough time on a particular sub-project, and I spoke to my boss about it. He was very understanding and promptly switched me back to my original project. Some management could have been a bit better with communication. 

There aren't too many opportunities to move up. Several of my co-workers accepted positions at the energy company who contracts DRG to join their vegetation management team, which was a good way to move up. Other than that, there are a few team leader positions that are rarely vacant, so you'd probably have to work here for 4-5 years before having a chance to move up.

My only issues with this job is that it requires a lot of driving and you sometimes have to work in difficult environments. 

You will be driving to and from wherever you are working for the day, with a good amount of driving in between. You are on the clock while driving, though, which is a plus. I developed a mild case of drivers foot, which bothered me slightly for the greater part of my employment at DRG, but once I got a truck that had cruise control, that helped a little. DRG pays for all gas. You can't use your vehicle for personal reasons. 

You sometimes have to work along very busy state roads or highways with vehicles going over 50mph. While you are given high-visibility vests and PPE, it's definitely a bit unnerving to have an 18-wheeler zoom past you just feet away. Some utility right-of-ways are overgrown with thick, sharp vegetation full of ticks, hidden holes and old metal barbed wire. You sometimes have to make your way through these ROWs to assess powerlines.  On hot summer days, these ROWs can be extra tough.

When starting, the work can be difficult to pick up. Depending on when you start determines what you will be doing. If you start in the summer the work is going to be hard. The main activity for the warmer parts of the year is herbicide application. You will be given a backpack that will be filled somewhere between 2 to 4 gallons of herbicide. Depending on the week you will either work in large wetlands or smaller restoration areas. Even if the weather is in the higher 90`s you will still be out there spraying with little to no shade. It’s not all bad though, the crew you work with are great and they try to look out for each other. They supply you with PPE and water. Also, during this time it’s a good opportunity to work on plant identification and see some beautiful places.  

When it’s the cooler time of the year things change up a bit. Sometimes you will do tree plantings, timber management (limited), or Urban Forestry. You are normally gone for extended periods of times. This can range to a few weeks to a couple of months. If you are not willing to travel, then getting hours is going to be rough. You will be lucky to get close to 35 hours a week.

The starting pay is good for people starting in the Environmental field. A nice thing is you get a weekly paycheck. The job is harder if you have a family though because mostly during the summer the typical workday is 10 to 12 hours. You get small raises for specific trainings, like applicators license or driving larger equipment. At the end of each year, you get a living wage adjustment that's less than a dollar as well. However, getting a raise for anything that isn't one of the abovementioned trainings is rough. The head manger doesn't like to give raises to people unless they work there for over a year, sometimes even 2 years, or they are a favorite. You will also have to watch your paycheck too if the manager says you will get a raise. The manager often forgets to do the paperwork and it can be months before it is brought to light. They will only do partial back pay as well.  Advancement is also tricky here as well. You could work here 5 years and still have the title of Environmental Technician. There is really only two ways to advance and that is 1. If there is a massive turn over (Which happens a lot) 2. If you a favorite of the head manager. 

The management under the head manger is pretty good as well. They care for the employees and overall try to help everyone. They are knowledgeable and help the field crew as much as they can. They honestly deserve more credit than what they are given at times.

 The head manager of the office is a bit different though. Starting out you think the manager is nice but over time you start to notice things. Working here longer than a year you start to notice a double standard that manager has. That manager has favorites and if you aren't on of them then working here long term can be rough. You won’t get special trainings, raises, or anything else that isn't essential. The head manager also likes to talk badly about field staff more specifically people that aren`t liked. I have been around when the manager calls crew leaders and some of the things said are not pleasant. You will think you have a professional relationship with the manager but in realty the manager is trying to get rid of you. Honestly the best advice I can give about this would be get/stay on the good side. If you aren't or fall out start to look for a new job because you won’t get anywhere. The head manager doesn't reward skills or experience only if you’re liked. If you do turn in your two weeks, be prepared for the head manager to just let you go. The head manager only allows people that were on their good side to finish the 2-week period. If you’re not on that good side, you`ll be let go. The head manager has openly stated this to other workers. This manager also has an extreme lack of respect for other people’s personal life or boundaries and will step over them if needed. 

Overall, this place is a good steppingstone if your just getting into the environmental field. You`ll get experience and training that will help you. But working here long term is very toxic.


This is a review for Davey Resource Group (utility consulting). I have experience in multiple job types and regions working for this company. I have personally gained a lot from working for DRG, but I see it as a stepping stone to better opportunities.
The best things about this job are the flexible hours, opportunity for building your resume and job experience, and flexibility (depending on job/location). The benefits are pretty average for the industry, which is nice for someone that's not used to having a 401k, PTO, etc. It's nice to have a company vehicle, work outdoors, and be productive.
The main downside to this work is that there is limited opportunity to advance into a highly-rewarding career position. The pay is usually just competitive enough to recruit good candidates, but never grows enough to sustain and retain quality people. Eventually you end up topping out after a few raises, and only get minimal raises after that. There is high turnover, and there are always new people coming in with hardly any experience, and they get paid just a bit less that you will. Middle managers don't have that great of jobs and their salaries are not impressive. The only real way to make good money in this job is two get overtime pay and ideally also per-diem. Some travel jobs for those with specialized experience can pay more. These things are not always available. 
Overall I have worked with some pretty great people, although there is usually a stream of new hires that don't know what they're doing. There have been a few cases I have seen where the management have not really taken care of their employees. It really depends on who your manager and senior manager are. Despite the "employee-owned" nature of the company, ultimately it is a pretty corporate environment and the workers are replaceable. Just keep that in mind and don't expect too much loyalty from the company. 
Overall Davey are pretty good at what they do in the consulting/contractor space. I would say that they are similar or maybe a bit better than some of the competition. I would suggest this job to a younger person that's looking to build some job experience, especially if you're willing to travel and get overtime/per diem. But keep in mind that you will likely need to move on after a few years because this type of company doesn't really reward longevity and commitment. 

A typical day at work starts with driving  to locations to start inspecting vegetation under powerlines. What I learned about this company was that all they care about would be your locations. What made me leave the company was I felt they did not care about the safety of employees, they will tell you enter customers backyards even when they are not home to look at the powerlines in the backyards, that would be fine but they don't give you anything to protect yourself. DOGS ARE A BIG PART OF THIS JOB AND YOU WILL RUN INTO THEM A LOT SO BE PREPARED!! I felt the pay was fair when I started but once you find out what you will be dealing with (irate customers, dogs, being threatened ect.) you will learn that you are very underpaid.You will not get overtime for the first six months of the job due to the probation period being six months long. when I was initially hired I was told I would get a 4 x 4 truck, but that was a lie I got a 2wd truck with 200k miles, that is not managements fault because the recruiter tells you these things without any knowledge of what trucks are in the fleet. The micromanaging definitely is a big thing and its getting worse daily. When I left the write-ups were getting outrageous you will be written up if you turn in papers late or forget to check in/out for lunch and when you get home. The management in the kern division is pretty cool(well some of them and that's the women supervisors to be specific) overall I would never go back to this company I worked there for 6 months and decided it wasn't for me mainly because of the safety concerns. They have a very high turnover rate due to the job and not being paid enough for what you deal with. The job at hand is very simple I will say that easy money aid you know how to follow directions.

If you want experience and this is your only option take it,but if you can avoid this company I would, the new supervisor is changing a lot of things and pushing micromanaging on all employees,APPLY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Corporate micromanages EVERYTHING and the penalties for all the useless, safety-theater policies is suspension and then termination. Up to a year ago, the work policies were fairly consistent with most job safety polices, and so were easy to remember and abide by because they were common sense (wear the proper PPE at all times, etc). Now, every month we have a new safety policy because corporate wants to make 2020 the year of safety... except none of the new policies actually make anything safer at all. Our #1 safety risk is slips, trips, and falls (like every job), but they ignore that. #2 is dog attacks, and yet they don't allow us to carry any form of protection except for a company-issued dogstick.... except they haven't yet given me one despite me asking for one for over a year (if I get bit, I'm suing their pants off the first chance I get). 

Dumb safety policies aside, everything from corporate has huge negative penalties (everything's a suspension or termination) if you don't go along with it, but also there are ZERO positive rewards for doing a good job. The expectation of getting at least a 1-2% cost of living pay bump is laughable here, despite the fact that you'll work in all the elements, doing a fairly dangerous job (dog and tick bites are basically guaranteed, crazy homeless people, rattlesnakes, and physically irate customers are also common) for barely more than minimum wage. 

That said, if you're desperate for a job then this place can have a lot of job security. Just keep your head down, go along with corporate, and don't complain when they hold three meetings a week and then blame you for not meeting your quota. Oh, but don't call it a quota because apparently that's not actually legal in this industry (I don't get the laws, my supervisor just informed me we can't refer to our "daily production requirement" as a "quota").

 The work itself consisted of walking through swamps, hunting camps, and residential backyards (with no PPE other than a hard hat and a vest to protect you from ticks, bears, hunters, dogs, angry homeowners, etc.) and then just listing the equipment on a powerline pole. My manager blatantly lied to me during my interview stating that the work consisted of GIS (it does not at all) and later admitted laughingly that they only used the term GIS on applications to lure candidates because it is a "hot" word at the moment. The work is nothing but data collection and you will learn the job in a week, then you learn nothing more during the duration of your time on the job. 
Workplace culture was pretty bad, fast food restaurants in the town were advertised for higher pay than what myself and my coworkers were receiving, and fast food workers don't need to run from dogs and pick ticks off of themselves all day while walking through waist-deep swamp. 
Looking back, the only enjoyable part of the job was joking around with my fellow coworkers about the negative field experiences we all had throughout the week.
You are required to work 45 hours a week, but the fact that you are unable to work in the rain/snow for long periods of time without damaging company equipment, most of the time means you're working 6 days a week in order to hit weekly hours. During hiring, they will tell you that your work schedule throughout the week is yours to make, but that is not really the case because of daylight hours and weather constraints.
Hiring managers are skilled salesmen in the department of baiting people to take the job but are poorly trained in employee retention and cultivating productive teams. This is why turnover is so incredibly high and employees are generally unhappy and unfulfilled.  


As a Consulting Utility Forester, I was given independence to roam through beautiful CA peninsula/ bay area with company provided rental vehicle and used iphone. Bay Area Davey hires through temporary agency in New Orleans for 3-month probationary period- no sick time, no medical, no vacation accrual. Employee owned company creates greed for stockholders, no consideration for new-hires (disposable). You are not "owner" for 12 months.

The 2-week in-office training was hardly enough to prepare for the field experience without having access to handheld PG&E computer device. Let alone the childlike environment- a room full of 22 year olds who've never had a full-time job, can barely finish sentences without giggling or hold a professional conversation without speaking in abbreviated text- the training manager treated us like we were in day-care. I was 2 decades older than my fellow new-hires & the only one terminated out of the group. This conveyed a preference for youth.
When we were given vehicle supplies, some things were broken (charging cords), used (water igloo with algae/mold), dirty (required hard-hat/high-
visibility vest), and some things never given at all (phone case/cord, PPE during pandemic).

After office training, I was paired with several different individuals to "shadow", some of whom were great and others void of interpersonal skills required for leadership. This showed lack of concern and mismanagement within the supervisors, oblivious to what was going on in the field.

Very casual environment, snarky clique, large demands placed on low-wage work force.

A typical day is driving to an assigned geographic area in a work truck (mine had 170k and looked like it had 270k) and recording every utility pole via iPad. Work is straightforward, but there are things to learn if you're unfamiliar with utility lines or GPS applications. You get one day of field training and a few visits from a direct supervisor to nullify errors and further explain things. 

Management is questionable beginning your first week, really making it feel like you can be let go at any time. The "entrepreneurial spirit" discussed in interviews glorifies management's poor treatment of lower level employees. You're essentially a machine that can audit X amount of poles per hour. My production was determined to be insufficient on my, get this... twelfth day. 

There's a big emphasis on safety for insurance purposes, so much that you get a warning for taking a turn too quickly or turning around too quickly in a culdesac. They also track you via the same device. Don't expect to get paid for online training. 

The pay can add up if you work 50+ hours a week, as you get per diem on workdays and stay in company paid hotels. If you don't possess any transferrable skills and don't mind entering data into a tablet while walking 5+ miles a day, then maybe you'll find the hourly rate worthwhile. I came from a similar data collection job and found this one to be extremely subpar. I've worked several labor-intensive jobs and this was by far the most monotonous; I've also never been treated with such disregard in a work environment. Good luck.

The company sounds great to work for, but they are extremely unorganized.  I was told I would be working in California in the Long Beach Area.  I was there for a total of 2 days before I was sent to San Diego.  I was there for only 3 weeks then sent to New Mexico.  I was in New Mexico for around 3 months, then sent to Texas.  As I said I was under the impression that I would be working in California for years, but then moved to a new state in less than a month.  When I was moved to New Mexico I was told that I would be back in California with my family once the New Mexico Project was completed. This did not happen.  They sent me to Texas instead.  Therefore this company would be great to work for if you do not mind being told one thing then getting something completely different in return.  In my short time at the company I found that I was not the only one that was being treated in such a manor.  Also the turn around rate for this job is unbelievable.  I have never seen so many people get fired and hired in such a short amount of time.  However, if you can put up with this type of mistreatment, do not mind where you are going to live, and are ready to move at the drop of a hat, then this is the company for you.  Horrible company to work for.

4 or 5 10-hour days. Meet at the office at 7 am, have a briefing, load trucks with supplies for the day. Leave for work sites usually between 7:45 and 8:30. Most sites were about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. 30-45 minute lunch usually starting 12-12:30. Weekly half-hour safety meetings. Drive back to office to leave work around 5 pm. 
Work sites are wetlands held privately, publicly, by government agencies, etc.
Work is mostly treating invasive species such as purple loosestrife, cattails, Phragmites with herbicide, usually glyphosate from backpack sprayers. It's nearly impossible to avoid getting the herbicide or tracker on you (I did not enjoy this part). Work also includes cutting woody species and treating stumps, and power spraying chemicals from a UTV.
There's no contingency plan for bad weather, so work continues in rain, cold, heat, etc., and infuriatingly, wildfire smoke. Masks were not available in the office, but on my request, masks were very willingly purchased.
The South Bend office is well-managed and has a positive, friendly environment. Professional develop

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Forester 7 salaries reported	$22.79 per hour
Utility worker 98 salaries reported	$21.95 per hour
Field technician 10 salaries reported	$22.40 per hour
Arborist 2 salaries reported	$26.75 per hour
Lineperson 8 salaries reported	$27.00 per hour

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