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Logging Equipment Operators in Washington

Thinking about a career as a Logging Equipment Operators in Washington? Here’s what the data says. Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers. Logging truck drivers are included in “Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers” (53-3032).

What do Logging Equipment Operators Make in Washington?

For logging equipment operators working in Washington, the median annual wage is $74,400 per year (or roughly $35.77/hour).Earnings range from $58,690 at the 10th percentile to $81,960 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$58,690	$28.22
25th percentile	$63,750	$30.65
Median (50th)	$74,400	$35.77
75th percentile	$78,100	$37.55
90th percentile	$81,960	$39.40

The location quotient — a measure of how concentrated this occupation is in Washington compared to the national average — is 2.23, indicating that logging equipment operators are more concentrated here than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, logging equipment operators earn a median of $36,164 per year ($17.39/hour), above the Washington median.

Employment Outlook

Nationally, total employment in this occupation is 399,043 logging equipment operators across the United States. In Washington alone, approximately 1,150 people work in this role. That’s more than the typical state, which employs around 440 logging equipment operators.

Top Washington Metros for Logging Equipment Operators

These are the Washington metros with the most logging equipment operators in Washington.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	150	$75,060
Longview-Kelso, WA	140	$74,840
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	120	$74,400
Bellingham, WA	50	$78,810
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	30	$71,650

Top States for Logging Equipment Operators Employment

These states have the highest employment of logging equipment operators work.

State	Number Employed
Alabama	1,950
Georgia	1,810
Oregon	1,750
North Carolina	1,190
Washington	1,150
Florida	1,060
Mississippi	1,060
South Carolina	980
Arkansas	970
California	940
Maine	920
Louisiana	910
Michigan	790
Virginia	760
Texas	670
Idaho	660
Tennessee	450
Pennsylvania	440
West Virginia	420
New York	360

Highest-Paying States for Logging Equipment Operators

The highest-paying states for logging equipment operators.

State	Annual Median Salary
Washington	$74,400
California	$62,000
Texas	$60,220
Oregon	$58,940
Alaska	$58,730
South Dakota	$58,370
Idaho	$58,200
Louisiana	$56,780
Vermont	$55,050
Illinois	$52,580

Skills

Top logging equipment operators skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Core knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for logging equipment operators, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Logging Equipment Operators typically:

• Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
• Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees.
• Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards.
• Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and crane booms to skid, load, unload, or stack logs, pull stumps, or clear brush.
• Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading.
• Fill out required job or shift report forms.
• Drive tractors for building or repairing logging and skid roads.
• Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear the tops off of trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.
• Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables.

Work Activities

• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Getting Information
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings

Tools & Technology

Software and systems commonly involved: Hot technologies: Microsoft Excel

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Programs that train for this career include:

• Ground Transportation

Related Careers

Other careers like logging equipment operators include:

• Agricultural Equipment Operators
• Fallers
• Log Graders and Scalers
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
• Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

Also Known As

Buncher Operator, Chain Hooker, Cutter Operator, Delimber, Delimber Operator, Equipment Operator, Feller Buncher Operator, Feller Operator, Forder Operator, Grapple Operator, Grapple Skidder Operator, Groundsperson, Harvester Operator, Hook Tender, Loader.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 45-4022.00