Farming, fishing and forestry
Faller
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Median pay
$52,100
Growth to 2035
−10%
declining
Openings a year
500
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Faller
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Faller: 11% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core 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.
Also called: Bucker · Cutter Operator · Feller · Logger · Sawyer · Timber Cutter · Timber Faller · Timber Feller
Outlook and AI
Fallers held 4,300 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 3,900 by 2035 (−10%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Occupational substitution - share decreases as logging equipment operators will continue to take over some of the tasks performed by fallers due increased mechanization.
Compare with
- Faller vs. Tree trimmers and pruners
- Faller vs. Logging equipment operator
- Faller vs. Forest and conservation workers
- Faller vs. Log graders and scalers
- Faller vs. Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood
- Faller vs. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
- Faller vs. Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse
- Faller vs. Rock splitters, quarry
- Faller vs. Forest and conservation technicians
- Faller vs. Agricultural equipment operator