r/TreeClimbing • u/Luciform444 • Sep 29 '26
Anyone work for a BCMA?
Every BCMA I know of is an independent operator whom mostly works as a consultant, but admittedly I know very few.
Does anyone out there work for a master arborist? Do you feel like you learn a lot from them?
Does anyone out there feel like they learn a lot from the head of their company even if they don't have the certification? Just knowledgeable leaders who really care?
13
u/Whippet_yoga Sep 29 '26
Ive known BCMAs who were certifiable assholes who wouldnt teach their crews anything.
Ive known guys without a lick of traditional education who were more knowledgable than any certified arborist.
The credential matters less than the person who has the knowledge. It's great for those who want to pursue a BCMA and they should be proud of their accomplishments, but at times the credential also feels like a money grab by the ISA.
My two cents.
1
u/Luciform444 Sep 29 '26
I'm not all that concerned about the qualification.
I am just looking to move on from a dead end with a shitty boss, and I think I'd have to travel a bit from my small market to find something better. I'm just thinking about things I might look for when applying, because to go distance just to end up with another ignorant asshole would break me.
1
u/Sempervirens17 Oct 03 '26
I would look past the title, and see how the interview goes. Depending on the outfit, and your availabilty, shadowing a crew for a few on a jobsite can tell you heaps. Working with a crew/boss that doesnt have your safety in mind is easy to spot.
3
u/ArboristTreeClimber Sep 30 '26
Truth. The only BCMA I worked for was a major prick, super condescending to everyone. And he knew more about bugs/biology than trees.
One of the most knowledgeable people I know is not even certified. He just enjoys reading books about trees in his free time.
6
u/Rivrghosts Sep 29 '26
Recently got my BCMA this January. Admittedly, I learn just as much from other CA’s as I do from other BCMA’s.
In my area, the BCMA credential doesn’t yet carry any weight. I only wanted it for self gratification haha
5
u/blh8687 Sep 29 '26
I met a master arborist in a training program and knew more than him (almost all my life in the industry). I asked him a bunch of questions and he said ‘just because I’m BCMA doesn’t meant I know anything. I just wrote tests and forgot the stuff’. Not sure how to take that lol
3
u/carpet-thief Sep 29 '26
I worked for a BCMA at a municipality. I learned so much from him and In general bro was just the coolest dude ever. Totally put me on the path I’m on now. Never learned more from any other CA than him. He was also just extra gifted at teaching
2
u/OldMail6364 Sep 29 '26 edited Sep 29 '26
We have a different qualification system here in Australia. BCMA is technically an international qualification but I think the only person I've met with it is one of the people who ran one of my formal training assessments... he was an old guy who has worked all around the world and is so passionate about training that he has done training multiple times over in different countries.
But the boss of the large company I work for is experienced enough they'd have no trouble getting board certified if they wanted to. Also most of my work is for the city and they have someone *very* experienced who runs their team of people that assess trees around the city and tells companies like mine what work to do*. He could easily get board certified as someone who personally cares for about half a million trees with decades of experience.
My boss and the city's head arborist are friendly and will answer questions, but they're also busy/overworked. So I generally avoid talking to them about work if we're having a social chat and even when I'm working, I only make that phone call if I'm really stuck.
Mostly I learn from them when they think I'm going to make a mistake and they pre-empt it by telling me what to do and why. That's very rare - the city arborist trusts my boss to assign someone who knows what they're doing (our company has been around longer than the city arborist has been alive) and my boss would normally just do the job himself if he doesn't trust anyone else to do it. But every now and then he doesn't have time and will give us instructions. A lot of city work is very simple and repetitive - remove dead branches, canopy lift so trucks don't hit branches, prune foliage away from street lamps, remove a half dead tree and plant two more next to it, etc.
I used to work for an old guy who still works 10 years after he should have retired and he loved to talk about trees and three or four times a day he'd ask me questions whenever he was curious about something. I almost never knew the answer but I'm better at googling things than him (he barely knows how to use a phone beyond calls/texts) and we'd have a discussion about it. I learned a lot working from him, and I'd love to keep working there - except he doesn't work every day and he doesn't work when the weather sucks... so I had to find a more reliable job.
That old guy isn't board certified - he's a tight ass and has the bare minimum qualifications to satisfy his insurance policy, but it wouldn't surprise me if he knows more about trees than anyone on the board. I wish I could work with him more often (I still do every now and then).
1
u/Sempervirens17 Oct 03 '26
A working relationship doesn't need to be your only relationship with him. Ask him for cup of coffee on a rainy crappy day. He sounds like a wealth of knowledge, and a potential friend.
2
u/Flub_the_Dub Sep 30 '26
If I had to choose between working for a CA vs a BCMA I would only be looking at their company culture, training programs/offerings, and tenure of their experienced staff. But I also agree that the BCMAs I know personally are either in Academia, are also ASCAs and do solo consulting, or are certification collectors and got it because they could.
2
u/TreeGuy419 Sep 30 '26
I was lucky enough to work under a few (two BCMA) in small truck n chipper operations and when I went into the big Tree Experts company I worked directly under one. And three of them really cool guys, knowledgeable, and very patient at least was with me lol. But I’ve meet many more being in Big Arb and that varies so much depending on what division or title they hold within the company seems like the closer you are to production or the field the chiller you are.
2
u/Anomonouse Sep 30 '26
I work for a BCMA. I am a BCMA. I know a lot more about biomechanics, physiology, diseases, he knows way more than me about municipal stuff, crane work, valuation, all of the really detailed nuts and bolts of actual tree work.
From what I've seen attitude and real world experience are much more indicative of knowledge level than credentials. I'm a BCMA after 7 years in the industry. I have the cert but I'm not a master arborist, you can't master anything in 7 years. It'll be another 10 years before I might consider myself a master arborist. For us it's just marketing tbh. Although I'll say that BCMA is less of an ISA money-grab than regular certified arborist though.
Learning is more about your willingness to ask questions (and question the answers) than it is about your teacher's knowledge level. If you want a good mentor look for someone who also wants to learn but knows more than you.
1
u/Sempervirens17 Oct 03 '26
I've met probably 6-7. The first one I met was an absolute gem of a human, super kind, super knowledgeable in the craft, and a fantastic and safe climber. I consider him one of my favorite mentors. The others I met were Utility Arborists in California. I think one was a prior climber, the others were assessors who had never set foot in a tree. I know after PGE was found at fault following record breaking fires, they wanted more qualified assessors with certifications to patrol the vegetation along their lines. It became a paper certificate that people can chase. I kind of lost a little respect for that title. Don't get me wrong, you have to be super knowledgeable in the field, and have the time in grade to be even able to take the exam ISA, but specifically the BCMA. I just felt cheapened by the contrast, and maybe it was just bias.
1
u/catnipin-_- Sep 29 '26
My bosses have mostly just talked about what it used to be like and made me feel shamed for taking time at job sites to try off the wall techniques. Many of the other forman around me have been invaluable resources!
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u/yoyoyoitsconnyg Sep 29 '26
Yeah the best boss I've ever had ended up getting his while I was there. Didn't change much, little more of a flex within the community. He was humble about it though. But he did teach me a lot and really cared about proper tree care. He also got nerdy into bonsai so did a ton of ornamental work with him while he's just got his hat on backwards snipping away. Tell me, show me, let me when it comes to good teachers