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Skilled Trades

Logging Equipment Operators

Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers.

Median salary (BLS)

$49,740

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$35k – $74k

Job outlook

No separate BLS projection for this specific role

AI exposure

Plan a path to Logging Equipment Operators

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Education

Typical entry: No degree required

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How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$100–$2,600

Time to qualify

3.1 yr

Renewal

$50/yr

  1. 1

    Registered apprenticeship (paid)

    Experience

    Earn-while-you-learn training — apprentices are paid during the program; fees are tools/books, not tuition.

    $0–$2,000 · 36 months · varies by state source

  2. 2

    Journeyman exam & state/local license

    License

    Most states and municipalities test and license journeyman-level trades workers.

    $100–$600 · 1 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Logging Equipment Operators" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Logging Equipment Operators

    Entry / Junior

    $35,170

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Logging Equipment Operators

    Established

    $49,740

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Logging Equipment Operators

    Senior

    $62,020

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Inspect equipment for safety prior to use, and perform necessary basic maintenance tasks.
  • •Control hydraulic tractors equipped with tree clamps and booms to lift, swing, and bunch sheared trees.
  • •Grade logs according to characteristics such as knot size and straightness, and according to established industry or company standards.
  • •Drive straight or articulated tractors equipped with accessories such as bulldozer blades, grapples, logging arches, cable winches, and crane booms to skid, load, unload, or stack logs, pull stumps, or clear brush.
  • •Drive crawler or wheeled tractors to drag or transport logs from felling sites to log landing areas for processing and loading.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Skilled Trades

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.