Logging Equipment Operator

Explore This Path

Operate powerful machines to manage forests and support sustainable logging practices.
Play a crucial role in the timber industry by ensuring efficient and safe log handling.
Use advanced equipment to transform raw timber into valuable resources.

💰 Earn $51K-$70K

📚 High School Diploma or GED

⏱️ 0–6 MONTH TRAINING

📈 -3.8% JOB GROWTH

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What You’ll Do

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.

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.

Scoop

Minimum Education

High School Diploma or GED

Career Prospects

Shaky (Decreasing by 1-5%)

Training Time

Less than 6 months

Job Openings

4,600 Annually

Median Earnings

$60,360 in California

$48,240 Nationally

$25K

$50K

$75K

$100K

$125K

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$175K

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$250K

Real Talk Reel

Want to see what it's like to be a Logging Equipment Operator? We've curated a playlist for you to get a glimpse into a day in the life.

@gradenpayne

Best For You If...

YOU Like 💕

Thinking and problem solving
Using data or completing tasks
Working with my hands

You are skilled in 💫

Equipment Maintenance
Monitoring
Operation and Control
Operations Monitoring
Troubleshooting

You value 🙏

Having support
Having freedom
Job security

Deep Dive

Logging Equipment Operator

Explore career pathways, key skills, and what each role has to offer.

Pathways to this Career

Learn about the education and training paths that can lead to this career — and what to expect from each one.

Associate's Degree

An associate's degree typically provides graduates with foundational knowledge and skills for entry-level jobs in the graduate's industry, or serves as a stepping stone towards further education.

🎓 College

⏱️ FINISH IN 2-3 years

Vocational School

A vocational school typically equips students with specialized skills and practical training in specific trades or occupations, enhancing their employability and providing direct pathways to relevant careers.

🎓 Skills-Focused

⏱️ FINISH IN 6 months - 2 years

Bachelor's Degree

A bachelor's degree typically results in increased knowledge about a variety of academic subjects, specialized knowledge in a focused field of study, and is considered the foundational qualification for many careers.

🎓 College

⏱️ FINISH IN 4-5+ years