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Tree Trimmers and Pruners
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
Climber
Grounds Worker
Groundsman
Laborer
Plant Health Care Technician
Tree Climber
Tree Trimmer
Trimmer
Wages
Annual wages for Tree Trimmers and Pruners in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
62,100
3% Change From 2024
Explore Landscape and Groundskeeping Workers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
- Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees.
- Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
- 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.
- Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees.
- Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
- Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
- 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.
- Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
- Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care.
- Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
- Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces or seal surfaces and to protect them from fungi and insects.
- Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools.
- Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.
- Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving.
- Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration.
- Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
- Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems.
- Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
- Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
- Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
- Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles.
- Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
- Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
- Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
- Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
- Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
- Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets.
- Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")