All About Fallers
Occupation 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.
Faller Responsibilities
- Load logs or wood onto trucks, trailers, or railroad cars, by hand or using loaders or winches.
- Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.
- Mark logs for identification.
- Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Faller?
Fallers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
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.
Types of Faller
- Tree Feller
- Pulpwood Cutter
- Timber Cutter
- Cutter Operator
- Timber Feller
Is There Going to be Demand for Fallers?
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. The BLS estimates 800 yearly job openings in this field.

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.
Faller Average Salary
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 do I Become a Faller?
Education needed to be a Faller:

What work experience do I need to become a Faller?

Where Fallers Work

The table below shows the approximate number of Fallers employed by various industries.

You May Also Be Interested In…
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:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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