Skilled Trades
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.
Median salary
$50,430
Typical range
$38k – $79k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Entry / Junior
$37,660
~2 yrs to advance
Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Established
$50,430
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Senior
$64,665
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
- •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.
- •Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.