Logging Workers

Summary

Logging workers harvest thousands of acres of forests each year.

Quick Facts: Logging Workers
2010 Median Pay	$32,870 per year $15.80 per hour
Entry-Level Education	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	53,200
Job Outlook, 2010-20	4% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	2,300

What Logging Workers Do

Logging workers harvest thousands of acres of forests each year. The timber they harvest provides the raw material for countless consumer and industrial products.

Work Environment

Logging jobs are physically demanding and can be hazardous. Workers spend all of their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas.

How to Become a Logging Worker

Most logging workers have a high school diploma. They get on-the-job training to become familiar with forest environments and to learn how to operate logging machinery.

Pay

The median annual wage of logging workers was $32,870 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of logging workers is expected to increase 4 percent between 2010 and 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Logging workers should have good job prospects overall.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of logging workers with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

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What Logging Workers Do About this section

Loggers cut trees with hand-held power chain saws or mobile felling machines.

Logging workers harvest thousands of acres of forests each year. The timber they harvest provides the raw material for countless consumer and industrial products.

Duties

Logging workers typically do the following:

• Cut down trees with hand-held power chain saws or mobile felling machines
• Fasten chains around logs to be dragged by tractors
• Drag logs to the landing or deck area
• Separate logs by species and type of wood and load them onto trucks
• Drive and maneuver tractors and tree harvesters to shear trees and cut logs into desired lengths
• Drive tractors to build or repair logging roads
• Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness
• Inspect equipment for safety before using it and do necessary basic maintenance tasks
• Calculate total board feet, cordage, or other wood measurement units, using conversion tables

Timber-cutting and logging are done by a logging crew. The following are some types of logging workers:

Fallers cut down trees with hand-held power chain saws or mobile felling machines.

Buckers trim the tops and branches of felled trees and buck (cut) the logs into specific lengths.

Choke setters fasten chokers (steel cables or chains) around logs to be skidded (dragged) by tractors or forwarded by the cable-yarding system to the landing or deck area, where the logs are separated by species and type of product, such as pulpwood, saw logs, or veneer logs, and loaded onto trucks.

Rigging slingers and chasers set up and dismantle the cables and guy wires of the yarding system.

Log sorters, markers, movers, and chippers sort, mark, and move logs, based on species, size, and ownership, and tend machines that chip up logs.

Logging equipment operators use tree harvesters to fell trees, shear tree limbs off, and cut trees into desired lengths. They drive tractors and operate self-propelled machines called skidders or forwarders, which drag or transport logs to a loading area.

Log graders and scalers inspect logs for defects and measure the logs to determine their volume. They estimate the value of logs or pulpwood. These workers often use hand-held data collection devices to enter data about trees. The data are later downloaded to a computer.

A typical crew might consist of

• one or two tree fallers or one logging equipment operator with a tree harvester to cut down trees
• one bucker to cut logs
• two logging equipment operators with tractors to drag cut trees to the loading deck
• one logging equipment operator to load the logs onto trucks.

Work Environment About this section

Workers spend their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas.

Logging workers held about 53,200 jobs in 2010.

Logging is physically demanding and can be hazardous. Workers spend all their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas. The increased use of enclosed machines has decreased some of the discomforts caused by bad weather and has generally made logging much safer.

Workers in some sparsely populated western states and northern Maine commute long distances between their homes and logging sites. A few logging camps in Alaska and Maine house workers in bunkhouses. In the more densely populated eastern and southern states, commuting distances are shorter.

Injuries

Most logging work involves lifting, climbing, and other strenuous activities, although machinery has eliminated some heavy labor. Falling branches, vines, and rough terrain are constant hazards, as are dangers associated with felling trees and handling logs.

Workers must use hearing protection while logging. They must also be careful and use proper safety measures and equipment, such as hardhats, safety clothing, and boots.

How to Become a Logging Worker About this section

Most logging workers have a high school diploma.

Most logging workers have a high school diploma. They get on-the-job training to become familiar with forest environments and to learn how to operate logging machinery.

Training

Many states have training programs for loggers. Although specific coursework may vary by state, most programs usually include technical instruction or field training in a number of areas, including best management practices, environmental compliance, and reforestation.

Safety training is a vital part of logging workers’ instruction. Many state forestry or logging associations provide training sessions for tree fallers, whose jobs require more skill and experience than other logging positions. Sessions may take place in the field, where trainees have the opportunity to practice various felling techniques.

Logging companies and trade associations also offer training programs for workers who operate large, expensive machinery and equipment. Often, a representative of the equipment manufacturer spends several days in the field, teaching loggers how to operate newly purchased machinery.

Important Qualities

Decision-making skills. Logging workers must make quick, intelligent decisions when hazards arise.

Detail oriented. Logging workers must watch gauges, dials, and other indicators to determine whether equipment and tools are working properly.

Listening skills. Logging workers must give full attention to what their superiors are saying. They must understand the instructions they are given before performing tasks.

Physical stamina. Logging workers need to be able to perform laborious tasks repeatedly.

Physical strength. Logging workers must be able to handle heavy equipment.

Education

A high school diploma is enough for most logging workers. Some vocational and technical schools and community colleges offer courses leading to a two-year technical degree in forest harvesting. This degree may help workers get a job. Courses may include field trips to observe or participate in logging activities.

A few community colleges offer training for equipment operators.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of logging workers was $32,870 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,660, and the top 10 percent earned more than $49,370.

The median annual wages of logging worker occupations in May 2010 were as follows:

• $34,470 for fallers
• $32,430 for log graders and scalers
• $32,390 for logging equipment operators
• $34,560 for all other logging workers

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of logging workers is expected to increase by 4 percent between 2010 and 2020, slower than the average for all occupations. Logging workers should have good job prospects overall.

New policies allowing some access to federal timberland may result in some logging jobs. Federal legislation designed to prevent destructive wildfires by proactively thinning susceptible forests may result in additional jobs.

Foreign and domestic demand for wood products, such as wood pellets, is expected to lead to some employment growth.

Nonetheless, domestic timber producers continue to face increasing competition from foreign producers, which can harvest at a lower cost.

The logging industry will continue to consolidate to reduce costs, an approach that may offset the creation of new jobs.

Increased mechanization of logging operations and improvements in logging equipment will continue to depress demand for many timber-cutting and logging workers who work by hand.

Overall employment should decline as more labor-saving equipment is used. Employment of machinery and equipment operators will be less affected and should rise as logging companies switch away from tree felling by hand.

Job Prospects

Despite slower-than-average employment growth, job opportunities should be good because of the need to replace workers who leave the occupation for other jobs that are less physically demanding.

Employment of logging workers can be unsteady because changes in the level of construction, particularly residential construction, can cause short-term slowdowns in logging activities.

In addition, logging operations must be relocated when all of the timber in a particular area has been harvested. During prolonged periods of inactivity, some workers may stay on the job to maintain or repair logging machinery and equipment while others are laid off or forced to find jobs elsewhere.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For information about timber-cutting and logging careers and about secondary and postsecondary programs offering training for logging occupations, visit

Forest Resources Association, Inc.