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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.
Other titles employers use
Delimber Operator · Feller Buncher Operator · Harvester Operator · Loader Operator · Log Processor Operator · Logging Equipment Operator · Logging Shovel Operator · Skidder Driver
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- 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.
- Fill out required job or shift report forms.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to practical and organizing work.
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Troubleshooting
Subjects to know
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
Useful strengths
- Control Precision
- Reaction Time
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Multilimb Coordination
- Depth Perception
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 1.6 | Largely your own space |
| On your feet | 2.0 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 4.4 | A regular part of the day |
| Working with your hands | 5.0 | Handling tools, instruments or materials |
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Word processing software
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Inventory management software
- Human resources software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 2,830
- Job openings each year
- 380
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- −4.7%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 2,830 | 380 | −4.7% |
| Georgia | 2,720 | 390 | −4.2% |
| Oregon | 2,690 | 390 | — |
| North Carolina | 2,320 | 330 | −3.3% |
| Alabama | 2,130 | 310 | 1.4% |
| Mississippi | 2,040 | 290 | −4.2% |
| California | 1,800 | 250 | 12.5% |
| Montana | 1,790 | 260 | 17.0% |
| Florida | 1,730 | 250 | −1.7% |
| Louisiana | 1,670 | 240 | 1.2% |
| South Carolina | 1,580 | 220 | −1.9% |
| New York | 1,540 | 0 | −4.3% |
| Arkansas | 1,480 | 210 | −5.1% |
| Texas | 1,350 | 190 | −3.6% |
| Michigan | 1,320 | 190 | −5.0% |
| Virginia | 1,290 | 180 | −3.0% |
| Maine | 1,210 | 170 | −6.2% |
| Missouri | 950 | 140 | 13.1% |
| Idaho | 900 | 130 | −2.2% |
| Minnesota | 880 | 120 | −3.3% |
| Wisconsin | 840 | 120 | 1.2% |
| Pennsylvania | 730 | 100 | 1.4% |
| West Virginia | 630 | 90 | −7.4% |
| Kentucky | 510 | 70 | −8.9% |
| Indiana | 380 | 50 | −5.0% |
| Oklahoma | 370 | 50 | — |
| Ohio | 360 | 50 | −5.3% |
| Tennessee | 350 | 50 | −2.8% |
| New Hampshire | 300 | 40 | — |
| Arizona | 280 | 40 | — |
| Vermont | 230 | 30 | — |
| Maryland | 150 | 20 | — |
| Massachusetts | 150 | 20 | 7.1% |
| Colorado | 140 | 20 | — |
| South Dakota | 140 | 20 | — |
| Alaska | 60 | 10 | −14.3% |
| Illinois | 40 | 10 | — |
| Wyoming | 40 | 10 | — |
| Nebraska | 20 | 0 | 100.0% |
Career to college
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