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.

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:

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

Image Credit: via

More about our data sources and methodologies.