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.
🎬Career Video
📋Key Responsibilities
- •Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
- •Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
- •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.
- •Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- •Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
- •Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- •Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
- •Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
💡Inside This Career
The tree trimmer maintains and removes trees—climbing to prune branches, operating chippers, removing hazardous trees, and performing the specialized work that tree care requires. A typical day involves climbing and cutting. Perhaps 65% of time goes to trimming and removal: climbing trees, cutting branches, removing sections. Another 20% involves cleanup—chipping brush, hauling debris, cleaning sites. The remaining time addresses equipment maintenance, safety preparation, and customer interaction.
People who thrive as tree trimmers combine physical courage with climbing ability and the chainsaw skills that tree work demands. Successful trimmers develop expertise in arboriculture while building the safety awareness that working at heights with power tools requires. They must work comfortably in trees. Those who struggle often cannot overcome fear of heights or find the physical demands unsustainable. Others fail because they cannot maintain focus on safety while managing multiple hazards.
Tree trimming maintains and removes trees that affect property and safety, with trimmers providing the skilled climbing and cutting that tree care requires. The field serves essential property and utility maintenance. Tree trimmers appear in discussions of arboriculture, outdoor trades, and the workforce caring for trees.
Practitioners cite the outdoor work and the physical challenge as primary rewards. The climbing provides unique work experience. The results are immediately visible. The work requires genuine skill. The outdoor setting is valued. The field offers decent wages. The variety of trees provides interest. Common frustrations include the dangerous nature of the work and the weather exposure. Many find that tree work has high injury and fatality rates. The physical demands are extreme. The weather affects work availability. Storm response means irregular hours. The equipment is heavy and loud. The work takes a physical toll over careers.
This career requires training in tree care and climbing techniques, often through apprenticeship. Strong climbing ability, chainsaw proficiency, and safety awareness are essential. The role suits those comfortable at heights who can handle physical demands. It is poorly suited to those afraid of heights, uncomfortable with danger, or seeking indoor work. Compensation is moderate to good for skilled outdoor work.
📈Career Progression
📚Education & Training
Requirements
- •Entry Education: Less than high school
- •Experience: Some experience helpful
- •On-the-job Training: Few months to one year
Time & Cost
🤖AI Resilience Assessment
AI Resilience Assessment
Low Exposure: AI has limited applicability to this work; stable employment prospects
How much of this job involves tasks AI can currently perform
Likelihood that AI replaces workers vs. assists them
(BLS 2024-2034)
How much this role relies on distinctly human capabilities
💻Technology Skills
⭐Key Abilities
🏷️Also Known As
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🔗Data Sources
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