Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Using sophisticated climbing and rigging techniques, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to maintain right-of-way for roads, sidewalks, or utilities, or to improve appearance, health, and value of tree. Prune or treat trees or shrubs using handsaws, hand pruners, clippers, and power pruners. Works off the ground in the tree canopy and may use truck-mounted lifts.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Speaking
- Coordination
- Instructing
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
- Transportation
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
- Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
- Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- Cut away dead and excess branches from trees, or clear branches around power lines, using climbing equipment or buckets of extended truck booms, or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers.
- Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
- Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
- Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (56.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (21.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (21.4%)
- 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 Tree Trimmers and Pruners 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 63% of occupations compared | 69% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 50% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 73% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 62% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 71% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 74% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 82% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very high
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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 23.46%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 7.54%
- Constant contact with others: 69%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 32.24%
- Important: 24.14%
- Very important: 11.6%
- Extremely important: 32.02%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 22.87%
- Very important: 30.93%
- Extremely important: 46.2%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 4.64%
- Very little freedom: 7.17%
- Limited freedom: 1.32%
- Some freedom: 18.37%
- A lot of freedom: 68.49%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Time pressure
- Never: 9.99%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.06%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.68%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.05%
- Every day: 46.22%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Conflict situations
- Never: 30.66%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.72%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.83%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.59%
- Every day: 13.19%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 37.17%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.12%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 36.09%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.63%
- Every day: 0%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2018
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 5.96%
- Fairly serious: 9.99%
- Serious: 30.05%
- Very serious: 7.17%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2018
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Helpers--Carpenters
Closeness 93/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 37-3013.00 · SOC 37-3013 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8