All About Fallers

Career Description Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.

Life As a Faller: What Do They Do?

• Split logs, using axes, wedges, and mauls, and stack wood in ricks or cord lots.
• 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.
• Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.
• Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.
• Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
• Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.

Qualities of a Faller

When polled, Fallers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

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.

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Other Faller Job Titles

• Arborist Representative
• All-Round Logger
• Axman
• Sawyer
• High Climber

Faller Job Outlook

There were about 7,500 jobs for Faller in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Faller. There will be an estimated 800 positions for Faller per year.

The states with the most job growth for Faller are Kentucky, Maryland, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Georgia, Alaska, or South Carolina. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Salary for a Faller

Fallers make between $27,080 and $78,500 a year.

Fallers who work in New York, Oregon, or Montana, make the highest salaries.

How much do Fallers make in different U.S. states?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Alabama	$44,320
Alaska	$59,680
Arkansas	$55,050
California	$56,720
Colorado	$29,650
Georgia	$42,570
Idaho	$43,170
Indiana	$53,620
Louisiana	$39,320
Maryland	$41,480
Massachusetts	$45,480
Michigan	$36,670
Minnesota	$45,010
Mississippi	$48,700
Missouri	$39,910
Montana	$65,560
New Hampshire	$45,240
New York	$63,040
North Carolina	$56,500
Ohio	$29,130
Oregon	$67,560
Pennsylvania	$33,170
Tennessee	$38,020
Texas	$50,220
Vermont	$40,810
Virginia	$42,120
Washington	$66,870
West Virginia	$38,620

Tools & Technologies Used by Fallers

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Fallers may use on a daily basis:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office
• ESRI ArcView
• BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker

How to Become a Faller

Individuals working as a Faller have obtained the following education levels:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Faller?

Who Employs Fallers?

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Related Careers

Those thinking about becoming a Faller might also be interested in the following careers:

• Helpers–Extraction Workers
• Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

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More about our data sources and methodologies.