30 in 3 years is a win
When the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) forces certified people to collect education credits (CEUs), everyone wins. As an arborist it forces me to learn by reading articles and taking twenty question quizzes, attend in-person seminars or online webinars. For employers and clients it means that the arborist is continuously improving and thus delivering good value. And the ISA makes good money from selling books, quizzes, and organizing seminars.
Normally, collecting thirty education credits in three years is easy. I usually read a CEU article in Arborist News (AN), answer the twenty quiz questions and submit everything online. The ISA processes everything and updates my profile but it can take a while. But what if your three year window isn’t normal?
Dropped ball
I was so busy in the past three years, I left everything until the last minute. I work as a landscape manager four days a week and I run my own company for the other three days. Then, as my renewal date approached, I realized that my up-coming overseas trip would interfere with my CEU hunt. So before I left, I printed off journal and AN articles and spent several evenings after work grinding through them.
The ISA kindly gave me a two-month extension so I completed the required thirty credits before I flew out of YVR airport in Vancouver, Canada.
University degree helps!
Here’s one benefit of having a bachelor’s degree: my undergraduate training involved reading copious amounts of science journal articles and summarizing them. And that’s exactly what I had to do to earn my credits. I plowed through many arboriculture journal articles and answered twenty questions for each. The pass mark is set at 16 out of 20.
Now, the next time people lip me off about being a landscaper with a university degree, I will have a neat answer for them. My undergraduate training paid off.
The catch!
I didn’t clue in until I had to pay for my recertification. ISA’s generous two-month extension cost me an extra US$75; recertification costs US$220 so it hurt a little bit but it’s well worth it professionally. One tree job can pay for this so it’s not a huge deal but you can save $75 if you don’t procrastinate like me.
Continuous learning is a must for arborists!
