Fallers
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Complex Problem Solving
- Equipment Maintenance
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Telecommunications
- Transportation
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- 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.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- 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.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (56.9% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (49.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (49.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Fallers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 88% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 91% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 93% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 97% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 56% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 87% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 57% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: 10.32%
- Contact with others about half the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 12.72%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 10.48%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 2.73%
- Extremely important: 13.25%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 7.75%
- Fairly important: 18.45%
- Important: 35.29%
- Very important: 5.46%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 2.73%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 97.27%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 10.64%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.72%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 2.87%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 7.46%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 13.61%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 3.54%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 11, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.1%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 6%
- Very serious: 2.73%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
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O*NET-SOC 45-4021.00 · SOC 45-4021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8