Alumni Story: Juha Vuorikko. From HAMK student to Forestry Engineer at UPM
At Evo campus recruitment day (Evon rekrypäivä) on 26.11.2025, we ran into Juha Vuorikko by chance and discovered that he is a HAMK forestry alumnus now working in the field. After a short conversation, Juha agreed to share a few reflections on his journey after graduation.
Juha grew up in a forestry family. “My parents were forestry entrepreneurs, so when I was young, the forest was mainly a workplace and a source of income.” Later, environmental science studies expanded how he sees forests.
“We focused more on ecosystem services and the different roles forests play.”
Juha Vuorikko
Today Juha works at UPM as a Forest Customer Manager (Metsäasiakasvastaava). In his role, he wants to support forest owners in decision making and help them understand how different choices affect the forest over time.
For Juha, one of the best parts of forestry is seeing the long term impact. “It’s special to walk in our family forest knowing my grandfather and father managed it before me. I now see the results of their work.” He hopes to pass the forest on in the same or better condition. He also values wood as a domestic and renewable raw material.
Moving from studies to working life felt straightforward:
“The studies at HAMK were practical and covered the topics I’ve needed in my job.”
Juha Vuorikko
An internship with good onboarding helped, and Juha continued directly into a permanent position.
Juha says he’s glad he decided to take the next step in his career and shift from environmental science to forestry studies at HAMK. Forestry is interesting to him because it combines planning with hands-on work. When the workday is done, you’ll find him in his own forest. “It’s a great counterbalance to computer work when, in your free time, you put on the brush cutter harness and head out to your own forest for some physical work.”
Juha’s advice for students is practical. The forestry sector includes many different roles, such as GIS, timber trade, customer work, harvesting and nature management. It can be worth exploring topics widely during your studies, because you may not yet know what direction will fit you best. He also highlights communication skills, because forest owners are a diverse group and good interaction matters in everyday work.
Juha Vuorikko
Bachelor of Engineering in Forestry, 2023
Forest Customer Manager (Metsäasiakasvastaava), UPM
Alumni activities
The Alumni stories are part of HAMK’s alumni activities. In collaboration with the The Moment project, they give alumni a voice and offer services and events that help alumni stay connected to the HAMK community. Through these activities, alumni can take part in mentoring, expand their professional networks, and make use of services that support personal and career development.
For more information, contact:
Katariina From
Specialist, Career Guidance and Alumni Coordination
