Occupation Details
Fallers
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Working Conditions
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$28,570.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$37,930.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$42,060.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
2,330
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
2,380
+5 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
359
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.0%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Quick Start - High school or less
Experience Requirements
Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.
Education Requirements
Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations involve following instructions and helping others. Examples include food preparation workers, dishwashers, floor sanders and finishers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, logging equipment operators, and baristas.
School Programs
School Programs information is not available for this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Concern for Others
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- All terrain vehicles ATV
- Auger bits
- Boom boats
- Caulk boots
- Chain flail delimbers
- Chain saw chaps
- Chain saws
- Climbing belts
- Combi cans
- Debarking tools
- Diameter tape measures
- Digital tachometers
- Emergency first aid kits
- Felling axes
- Felling wedges
- File sharpeners
- Flat files
- Forestry helicopters
- Forwarder cranes
- Frequency modulation FM two way radios
- Gas cans
- Global positioning system GPS receivers
- Grapple yarders
- Guylines
- Hand winches
- Haulback lines
- Hydraulic jacks
- Impact resonance devices
- Knuckleboom loaders
- Laptop computers
Technology
- Assisi Compiler
- Assisi Software Assisi Inventory
- Assisi Software Assisi Manager
- Assisi Software Assisi Resource
- BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker
- BCS Woodlands Software Woodlands Tracker
- ESRI ArcView
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- read maps
- read measuring or metering devices used in forestry
- operate tractor with accessories or attachments
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- recognize tree or forest plant species
- recognize wood species characteristics
- operate material moving, loading, or unloading equipment
- operate forestry equipment
- use two-way radio or mobile phone
- use chain saws
- use fire suppression equipment
- use hand or power tools
- use log handling tools or equipment
- operate hoist, winch, or hydraulic boom
- move or fit heavy objects
- load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
- fell or buck trees
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
- Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
- Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
- Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
- Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
- Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
- Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.
- Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.
- Load logs or wood onto trucks, trailers, or railroad cars, by hand or using loaders or winches.
- Mark logs for identification.
- Work as a member of a team, rotating between chain saw operation and skidder operation.
- Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.
- Split logs, using axes, wedges, and mauls, and stack wood in ricks or cord lots.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Forest, conservation, and logging workers
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn More