Talk through the work zone
Before sawing, you and your crew look for broken or weak wood and nearby power lines or structures.
Career profile
Tree Trimmer and Pruner
Tree trimmers prune limbs, remove damaged trees and help their crew steer where wood lands.
From a tree harness or a truck-mounted lift, you cut while teammates below handle lines. Each tree and its surroundings need muscle and careful choices.
A day in the life
Saw limbs by hand or power
Get into the canopy with climbing gear or an aerial lift, then cut off the chosen limbs.
Keep pace with the climber
Lower cut wood on ropes and send gear up, timing each move to what the climber is doing.
Chip brush and load wood
Cleanup is much of the work: gather branches, run the brush chipper and load wood to haul away.
Tune up your tools
Clean, sharpen and oil the saws and other gear so it's ready before anyone uses it again.
Quick facts
Learn on a tree crew
United States
$24.50/hour
United States · 2025
4% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn on a tree crewEntry jobs can provide training without previous tree-work experience. Employers set education and hiring requirements.
Pay
$24.50/hourThe national median was $50,960 a year in 2025.
Outlook
4% projected growthEmployment of tree trimmers and pruners is projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy physical work outdoors.
- You can stay deliberate when a task demands close attention.
- You like coordinating your movements with other people.
Things to weigh
- Lifting, bending, weather, and loud equipment can make a day tiring.
- Falls and falling branches can cause severe injuries. Protective equipment, equipment checks, and a controlled work area are part of the work.
- Some municipal jobs include storm emergencies, which can interrupt a predictable schedule.
Where AI may help
On some removal jobs, a crane-mounted gripper and saw can hold, cut, and move sections of a tree. This equipment is called a grapple saw.
What people still lead
People assess the tree, choose the equipment position, operate the controls, and watch the work area.
What we can’t predict yet
How much climbing these machines will replace remains uncertain. Tight access and limited reach can still require a mix of machine work and workers in aerial lifts.
Pay in context
Earnings
The 2025 national median was $24.50 an hour, or $50,960 a year. Treat it as a midpoint across workers, not a starting offer.
The national spread
The lowest-paid 10% earned $37,940 a year or less; the highest-paid 10% earned $80,310 or more. These are wage percentiles, not beginner and expert salaries.
Workplace type can matter
In May 2023, average pay was $25.13 an hour ($52,270 annually) in services to buildings and dwellings, versus $29.59 ($61,550 annually) in local government excluding schools and hospitals. These historical industry averages are not current offers.
Growth and replacement openings
The 2025–2035 forecast projects 4% employment growth. A separate, older 2024–2034 forecast estimated 7,400 openings a year, including replacement needs as well as growth.
Getting started
Join a ground crew
Paid
- What the route involves
- Apply for groundperson jobs that offer beginner training. Learn equipment care, brush handling, and crew support alongside experienced workers.
- What it can lead to
- You gain paid tree-crew experience and learn how work on the ground connects with the climber above.
- What to check
- Work near energized power lines requires specialized electrical-safety training; general tree-work experience alone is not enough.
Apply for an arborist apprenticeship
Paid
- What the route involves
- Combine paid work with a mentor and classroom instruction in tree care, including pruning, climbing, and lowering branches.
- What it can lead to
- Completing a registered program earns a portable apprenticeship credential and builds a broader set of tree-care skills.
- What to check
- Apply through an employer or program sponsor. Check its admission requirements, training schedule, and application dates; programs are not available everywhere.
You can enter through employer training or a structured apprenticeship. A college degree is not the usual starting requirement.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Become dependable on the ground
Build steady habits in brush handling, tool care, and supplying the climber. Learn to coordinate rope work with the rest of the crew.
Develop aerial skills
Build climbing, aerial-lift, and branch-lowering skills through further training. Learn how different trees change the work plan.
Lead or specialize
With experience, you may train newer workers and lead a crew, or develop skill in complex removals using cranes and grapple saws.
Where you can work
Residential tree-service crews
Homes, driveways, and narrow yards shape how you reach a tree and move the wood. Protecting nearby property is a constant planning concern.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Utility line-clearance crews
You help keep branches clear of utility lines. Roadside jobs can also involve setting warning devices and managing traffic around the crew.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Municipal forestry departments
You care for trees along public streets and green spaces. Some departments also use tree crews for storm cleanup and winter snow operations.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
From a public path, sketch a tree and the space around it. Mark nearby buildings, walkways, and places a truck could reach. Write two questions you would ask before planning tree work. Notice whether studying the whole site interests you.
Stay safe: Stay on the ground and outside active work areas. Do not climb, cut, or approach wires; this is an observation exercise.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Department of Labor. Tree Trimmers and Pruners. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Department of Labor. National Wages: Tree Trimmers and Pruners. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates: Tree Trimmers and Pruners. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Grounds Maintenance Workers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Inspection Guidance for Tree Care and Tree Removal Operations. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Clarification of 1910.269 as Applied to Line-Clearance Tree-Trimming Operations. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- The Davey Tree Expert Company. Groundperson | Line Clearance. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC. Groundperson - Union. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Department of Labor. Career Seekers: Registered Apprenticeship. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Arborist Apprenticeship. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- City of Milwaukee. Urban Forestry Arborist Apprentice. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- GMT Equipment. Grapple Saws. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Tree Jaws. Grapple Saw Truck Water Oak Removal. Accessed 2026-10-03.