Tree Trimmers and Pruners
SOC: 37-3013.00

Description:

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.

National Salary Information:

Hourly Statistics:

Annual Statistics:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data.

Employment Projections:

Employment (2014):
53,200 employed

Projected (2024):
56,200 employed

Projected growth (2014-2024)


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 2014-2024 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Alternate Titles:

  • Arborist
  • Brush Clearing Laborer
  • Climber
  • Crane Operator
  • Diagnostician
  • Grape Pruner
  • Ground Worker
  • Groundsman
  • Line Clearance Foreman
  • Plant Health Care Technician
  • Pruner
  • Tanbark Laborer
  • Timber Cutter
  • Tractor Operator
  • Tree Care Foreman
  • Tree Climber
  • Tree Doctor
  • Tree Expert
  • Tree Specialist
  • Tree Surgeon
  • Tree Trimmer
  • Tree Trimmer Helper
  • Tree Worker
  • Trimmer
  • Vine Pruner

    • Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

    Experience:

    Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

    Education:

    These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

    Job Training:

    Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

    Required Skills:

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Equipment Selection
  • Operation Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Time Management
  • Management of Financial Resources
  • Management of Material Resources
  • Management of Personnel Resources

    • Knowledge Used:

  • Administration and Management
  • Clerical
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Production and Processing
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Design
  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Psychology
  • Geography
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Foreign Language
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Law and Government
  • Telecommunications
  • Communications and Media
  • Transportation

    • Tasks:

  • 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.
  • Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
  • 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.
  • Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
  • Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems.
  • Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.
  • Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes or other tools.
  • Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care.
  • Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
  • Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles.
  • Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
  • Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving.
  • Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
  • Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees.
  • Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees.
  • Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces to seal surfaces, and to protect them from fungi and insects.
  • Harvest tanbark by cutting rings and slits in bark and stripping bark from trees, using spuds or axes.
  • Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration.
  • Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets.
  • Install lightning protection on trees.

    • Tools & Technology:

  • Agricultural augers
  • Boom trucks
  • Brush chippers
  • Brush trucks
  • Bucket trucks
  • Bypass pruners
  • Cargo trailers
  • Chemical mixers
  • Chipper shredders
  • Chipper trucks
  • Climbing hooks
  • Cordless power saws
  • Dump trucks
  • Felling wedges
  • Garden shovels
  • Gas hedge trimmers
  • Hacksaws
  • Hand pruners
  • Hand-held grab hooks
  • Handheld sprayers
  • Hard hats
  • Hedge clippers
  • Hydraulic chemical sprayers
  • Hydraulic pruners
  • Hydraulic stick saws
  • Limbing axes
  • Loader backhoes
  • Long-handled clippers
  • Loppers
  • Measuring tapes
  • Mist sprayers
  • Non-slip boots
  • Pole ladders
  • Pole pruners
  • Pole saws
  • Power pruners
  • Protective ear muffs
  • Protective ear plugs
  • Protective masks
  • Protective safety glasses
  • Pruning knives
  • Root pruners
  • Rope blocks
  • Safety lanyards
  • Soil sampling probes
  • Stump chippers
  • Swivel carabiners
  • Tree climbing saddles
  • Tree climbing spikes
  • Tree pruning saws
  • Tree trimming chainsaws
  • Tripod ladders
  • Truck-mounted lifts
  • Wheeled front-end loaders
  • Work gloves
  • Work trucks
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word

    • building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

    industry stats

    SOC: 37-0000

    Total Employed: 4,407,050

    Average Annual Salary: $27,080