Fallers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$52,100
United States, 2025
Employment
3,130
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
- O*NET code
- 45-4021.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- 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.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$35,180
25th percentile
$41,360
75th percentile
$63,390
90th percentile
$82,360
Most important skills
- Operation and Control3.1
- Operations Monitoring3.1
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Time Management2.9
- Troubleshooting2.8
- Equipment Maintenance2.8
- Complex Problem Solving2.8
- Repairing2.8
- Speaking2.6
- Quality Control Analysis2.6
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 5 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
5
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Operation and Control | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.1 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with FallersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| OR | $84,490 | 180 | 2025 |
| ID | $78,330 | 190 | 2025 |
| WA | $77,340 | — | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $76,940 | 30 | 2025 |
| SC | $76,350 | 130 | 2025 |
| AR | $67,060 | — | 2025 |
| LA | $62,040 | 200 | 2025 |
| CA | $59,590 | 260 | 2025 |
| MD | $58,300 | 60 | 2025 |
| MS | $54,110 | 140 | 2025 |
| MI | $51,700 | 410 | 2025 |
| WI | $50,010 | — | 2025 |
| VA | $48,340 | 330 | 2025 |
| OH | $47,700 | — | 2025 |
| TN | $47,560 | 80 | 2025 |
| NC | $46,080 | 200 | 2025 |
| Richmond, VA | $40,560 | 40 | 2025 |
| GA | $39,380 | 170 | 2025 |
| NY | $36,190 | 120 | 2025 |
| IN | $26,210 | 40 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Fallers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.