---
title: "Faller"
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."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/faller"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Faller

**Category:** Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · **SOC code:** 45-4021 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 45-4021.00

Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.

Also advertised as: Bucker; Cutter Operator; Feller; Logger; Sawyer; Timber Cutter; Timber Faller; Timber Feller.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $52,100 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $25.05/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,180 to $82,360, with the middle half between $41,360 and $63,390
- **Total US employment:** 3,130
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -9.9% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 500 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 66/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 3,130 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,180 |
| 25th | $41,360 |
| 50th (median) | $52,100 |
| 75th | $63,390 |
| 90th | $82,360 |
| Mean (average) | $57,110 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OR | $84,490 | $81,743 | 180 |
| ID | $78,330 | $82,026 | 190 |
| WA | $77,340 | $72,272 | Not published by BLS |
| SC | $76,350 | $81,441 | 130 |
| AR | $67,060 | $77,136 | Not published by BLS |
| LA | $62,040 | $70,335 | 200 |
| CA | $59,590 | $53,820 | 260 |
| MD | $58,300 | $55,545 | 60 |
| MS | $54,110 | $62,229 | 140 |
| MI | $51,700 | $53,733 | 410 |
| WI | $50,010 | $53,148 | Not published by BLS |
| VA | $48,340 | $47,812 | 330 |
| OH | $47,700 | $51,415 | Not published by BLS |
| TN | $47,560 | $51,769 | 80 |
| NC | $46,080 | $48,852 | 200 |

3 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 18 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/faller/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/faller.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 4,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 3,900 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 400 jobs, or -9.9%. Declining: -9.9% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 500 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

## What the work involves

- Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.
- Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
- 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.
- Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Telecommunications — importance 2.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Reaction Time — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Static Strength — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speed of Limb Movement — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.32 |
| I — Investigative | 2.48 |
| S — Social | 1.92 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.57 |
| A — Artistic | 1.13 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 85.2 |
| ISTP | 75.8 |
| ISFJ | 71.8 |
| ESTJ | 70.5 |
| INTJ | 63.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Tree Trimmer and Pruner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tree-trimmer-and-pruner) — median $50,960
- [Logging Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/logging-equipment-operator) — median $49,740
- [Forest and Conservation Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forest-and-conservation-worker) — median $43,680
- [Log Grader and Scaler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/log-grader-and-scaler) — median $46,330
- [Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Wood](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sawing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-wood) — median $42,770
- [Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/landscaping-and-groundskeeping-worker) — median $39,150
- [Farmworker and Laborer, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farmworker-and-laborer-crop-nursery-and-greenhouse) — median $35,660
- [Rock Splitter, Quarry](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rock-splitter-quarry) — median $48,740
- [Forest and Conservation Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forest-and-conservation-technician) — median $54,560
- [Agricultural Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-equipment-operator) — median $41,730

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/faller