Occupation

Tree Trimmers and Pruners

Human Advantage 67%

Significant human skills needed

AI Automation Risk Moderate Risk
3.3 / 10

Some tasks in this role may be augmented by AI, but human oversight and interpersonal skills remain important.

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.

Also Known As: Arborist, Brush Clearing Laborer, Climber, Climber Trimmer, Diagnostician, Grape Pruner, Grounds Worker, Groundsman +19 more

Video

Core Tasks

  1. Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
  2. Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
  3. 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.
  4. Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
  5. Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
  6. Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
  7. Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
  8. Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
  9. Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
  10. Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems.
  11. Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care.
  12. Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
  13. Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
  14. Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools.
  15. Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.

Supplemental Tasks (9)

  1. Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees.
  2. Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
  3. Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles.
  4. Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees.
  5. Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration.
  6. Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
  7. Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces or seal surfaces and to protect them from fungi and insects.
  8. Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving.
  9. Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets.

Education & Training

Job Zone 2 Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education: These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
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.
On-the-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.

Education Level Distribution

Percentage of workers in this occupation with each education level.

Less than a High School Diploma
57%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
37%
Some College Courses
4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
2%

Technology & Tools

Hot Technologies

  • Facebook
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word

Tools & Equipment (56)

  • 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

Where This Career Leads

Career progression organized by specialty track and experience level.

Travel & Leisure Arts, Entertainment, & Design

Zone 1
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 96% match
Zone 2
Tree Trimmers and Pruners You are here
Zone 3
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers 78% match
Zone 4
Museum Technicians and Conservators 75% match

Resume Builder

Select key tasks to generate action-oriented resume bullets for Tree Trimmers and Pruners positions.

Related Occupations

Compare skills gap with any of these related roles.

FallersClosely Related Landscaping and Groundskeeping WorkersClosely Related Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, VegetationClosely Related Forest and Conservation WorkersClosely Related Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and GreenhouseClosely Related Agricultural Equipment Operators Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators Construction Laborers
Show all 20 related occupations
Logging Equipment Operators Highway Maintenance Workers Helpers--Extraction Workers Hoist and Winch Operators Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Riggers Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Roustabouts, Oil and Gas Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners Forest and Conservation Technicians Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand

Real Talk

Hear from real Tree Trimmers and Prunerss about their work:

Reddit Day-in-the-life discussions Reddit Salary discussions YouTube Video day-in-the-life Glassdoor Reviews & salaries