What Do Faller Do?
Faller Job 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
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Utility Arborist
- Chain Saw Operator
- Lumberman
- Hook Tender
- Paper Wood Cutter
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. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 800 job openings in this field each 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.
Faller Salary
The average yearly salary of a Faller ranges between $27,080 and $78,500.
Fallers who work in New York, Oregon, or Montana, make the highest salaries.
How much do Fallers make in each U.S. state?
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 |
What Tools do Fallers Use?
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
Becoming a Faller
Are there Fallers education requirements?
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.
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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