Will “Tree Surgeon” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

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.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 37-3013.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 37,310.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 17.00
• Currently, there are 40,680 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Tree Trimmers and Pruners”.

Also Known As…

• Tree Trimmers and Pruners
• Tree Trimmer
• Tree Climber
• Tree Care Foreman
• Plant Health Care Technician
• Line Clearance Foreman
• Groundsman
• Ground Worker
• Arborist
• Vine Pruner
• Trimmer
• Tree Worker
• Tree Trimmer Helper
• Tree Specialist
• Tree Expert
• Tree Doctor
• Tractor Operator
• Timber Cutter
• Tanbark Laborer
• Pruner
• Grape Pruner
• Diagnostician
• Crane Operator
• Climber
• Brush Clearing Laborer

Tasks for “Tree Surgeon”

• Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
• Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
• Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
• Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets.
• Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration.
• 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.
• Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment.
• Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces to seal surfaces, and to protect them from fungi and insects.
• Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving.
• Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles.
• Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
• Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees.
• Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.
• Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes or other tools.
• Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems.
• Harvest tanbark by cutting rings and slits in bark and stripping bark from trees, using spuds or axes.
• Install lightning protection on trees.
• Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
• Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees.
• Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons.
• Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
• Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
• 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 jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
• Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.

Related Technology & Tools

• Hand-held grab hooks
• Loader backhoes
• Tree climbing spikes
• Safety lanyards
• Cargo trailers
• Measuring tapes
• Pole saws
• Tripod ladders
• Agricultural augers
• Boom trucks
• Climbing hooks
• Brush trucks
• Chemical mixers
• Tree trimming chainsaws
• Hydraulic chemical sprayers
• Tree pruning saws
• Chipper shredders
• Limbing axes
• Protective ear plugs
• Loppers
• Dump trucks
• Pole ladders
• Garden shovels
• Protective safety glasses
• Power pruners
• Brush chippers
• Pruning knives
• Stump chippers
• Hydraulic pruners
• Cordless power saws
• Hedge clippers
• Hard hats
• Tree climbing saddles
• Rope blocks
• Felling wedges
• Gas hedge trimmers
• Hand pruners
• Chipper trucks
• Long-handled clippers
• Work trucks
• Pole pruners
• Hacksaws
• Protective ear muffs
• Protective masks
• Non-slip boots
• Work gloves
• Bypass pruners
• Truck-mounted lifts
• Wheeled front-end loaders
• Handheld sprayers
• Swivel carabiners
• Mist sprayers
• Soil sampling probes
• Bucket trucks
• Hydraulic stick saws
• Root pruners

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• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Excel