Board Certified Master Arborist

[sotc]

does .33 cents include ceu's and the costs associated with them?

 

[treesandsurf]

I'll take the BCMA as soon as I'm eligible. Will leave with a B.S. in about three months, and I think the CA certification and the college education actually complement each other. If had the choice between two candidates, one with an AA in arboriculture and one with a BCMA I would give more credit towards the BCMA when only looking at those two credentials, and possibly even over a B.S. depending on the focus of study.

I wouldn't know shite about trees and how to care for them without the extracurricular foraging and studying for the certification (and hanging around these places). The college stuff simply deepens the understanding. If nothing else the certifications push you to actually study the material because there will be a test, instead of just telling yourself "yeah, I'm gonna read that some day."

One case in point, had a lecture on pruning from a very tenured (40+ years teaching) professor who is highly regarded in the academic horticulture circles and speaks at many conferences, show us a picture of several large mature trees that were topped and was using it to demonstrate pollarding. Wouldn't hire him to care for my trees.

jp

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

If'n i remember my history right; sir Guy was the 6th one, 1st American?

 

[TC3]

Some day I'd like to earn my BCMA. It'd make me feel more like I actually earned all the money I've made over the years by just having a CA #.
Nomsayin ?!?

 

[Knotahippie]

If'n i remember my history right; sir Guy was the 6th one, 1st American?

I had no idea. Frikin' bad as#.

 

[treelooker]

Some day I'd like to earn my BCMA. It'd make me feel more like I actually earned all the money I've made over the years by just having a CA #.
Nomsayin ?!?

I hear ya, chickadee. A CA gets WAY too much juice. Almost everywhere I go it is the be all and end all of tree knowhow. (Glad you are making money though!) But that is changing--see Nov TCI mag.

O and KC there were a couple dozen who took the pilot in 2004 and maybe half? passed. Lots of USA types there.
Hey and email me your contact info--lost my phone and will be passin by in a couple weeks.

jp, sorry to hear that horror story from the U..Sorrier yet that there are many more examples of professors professing way beyond their competence.

Good point on the chemicals, Paul. Maybe they will use the scientific names instead!

 

[Paul B]

Good point on the chemicals, Paul. Maybe they will use the scientific names instead!

that would be a bit more helpful but not entirely. for instance Paclabutrazol isnt available in canada, under a trade name or as an ingredient, so we are blissfully unaware of information about it. Unless of course we participate in too many tree forums...

 

[thattreeguy]

good luck on the exam...its cool to grab up whatever certs you can...i was thinking asca consulting arb would be pretty cool myself

 

[Paul B]

...i was thinking asca consulting arb would be pretty cool myself

cool. I have been thinking about doing that too at some point, maybe in a couple years.

 

[wiley_p]

Funny over the years of of working in the industry. I have an 2 year degree in Forestry, have held my CA for a decade now. I always felt there should be some separation from CA's that have more time in grade than those that don't.
I was at first considering becoming a BCMA, but lately I have had a gritty taste on some issues with the ISA. There is quite a gap between the field folks and the "paper" folks. I train climbers, work safety programs all over the country, am part of an incredible climbing team, which is very challenging. Yet with many of the Consultant folks, City arborist types we are still viewed as wood cutting yard apes. The ISA takes in a LOT of cash, that in my opinion has gone more to furtherance of wine and cheese, pat on the back, sprayfests instead of promoting the skills and knowledge that we have.

I'm bitching, maybe I should step up and get the cert and make noise then.

 

[Mellow]

I can't believe it's been over ten years since I took the BCMA test! I missed by just a couple points but I'm ready to try again. My goal is to retest by the end of this year, before my Certified Arborist credential expires. I'll actually study this time.



I took the self-assessment practice test and got 80%.

 

[Bodean]

I heard recently some HOA’s are using TRAQ as a minimum req along w Cert arb.
Good job on jumping back on that Bronco!

 

[vharrison]

Good luck, older and wiser.

Back when Treelooker #4. and my son in law #409 took it, there wasn’t even a guide for exam prep. No sample questions, nothing, as I remember.

 

[Mellow]

Indeed. All we had back then was the Certified Arborist Study Guide. The BCMA test is a totally different format.

 

[Mellow]

Hitting the books today...

 

[FJR]

Do you have this book? Amazon product ASIN 0130888826
I thought it was one of the most helpful books for the test. All of the BMP books were helpful as well.

Good luck!

 

[lxskllr]

Is there a web page or maybe a practice test you can point to that shows what you're expected to know? I'm just curious how wide ranging the knowledge is.

 

[cory]

Hopefully is written better than the CT arborist test which contains many poorly worded questions, perhaps typical of government-issued tests.

 

[sotc]

And

Indeed. All we had back then was the Certified Arborist Study Guide. The BCMA test is a totally different format.

And something to the effect of "journal of arboriculture January 1979 to current" 😂

 

[Mellow]

I didn't make my end of the year deadline, but I finally paid for the exam today. Now I have 90 days to take the test.

 

[Jonny]

 

[Mellow]

I took the test this morning. It was difficult but I passed.

 

[Tree09]

Atta boy

 

[gf beranek]

Congrats!

Funny how a little piece of paper can make anyone an expert.

Certainly open more avenues to jobs.

 

[biggun]

I took the test this morning. It was difficult but I passed.

congratulations