What Do Faller Do?
Career Description Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Life As a Faller
- 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.
- Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
- Mark logs for identification.
- Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
- Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Faller?
When polled, Fallers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Related Job Titles
- Tree Feller
- Dozer Operator
- Timber Faller
- Arborist Climber
- Feller Buncher Operator
Faller Employment Estimates
In the United States, there were 7,500 jobs for Faller in 2016. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Faller. There will be an estimated 800 positions for Faller per year.

The states with the most job growth for Faller are Kentucky, Maryland, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Georgia, Alaska, or South Carolina. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Faller
The typical yearly salary for Fallers is somewhere between $27,080 and $78,500.

Fallers who work in New York, Oregon, or Montana, make the highest salaries.
How much do Fallers make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $44,320 |
Alaska | $59,680 |
Arkansas | $55,050 |
California | $56,720 |
Colorado | $29,650 |
Georgia | $42,570 |
Idaho | $43,170 |
Indiana | $53,620 |
Louisiana | $39,320 |
Maryland | $41,480 |
Massachusetts | $45,480 |
Michigan | $36,670 |
Minnesota | $45,010 |
Mississippi | $48,700 |
Missouri | $39,910 |
Montana | $65,560 |
New Hampshire | $45,240 |
New York | $63,040 |
North Carolina | $56,500 |
Ohio | $29,130 |
Oregon | $67,560 |
Pennsylvania | $33,170 |
Tennessee | $38,020 |
Texas | $50,220 |
Vermont | $40,810 |
Virginia | $42,120 |
Washington | $66,870 |
West Virginia | $38,620 |
What Tools do Fallers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Fallers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- ESRI ArcView
- BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker
How to Become a Faller
Learn what Faller education requirements there are.

How Long Does it Take to Become a Faller?

Who Employs Fallers?

Below are examples of industries where Fallers work:

Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Those interested in being a Faller may also be interested in:
- Helpers–Extraction Workers
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
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