Hey all,
As the title says I'm looking to start full time work in the logging industry as a faller. Hand cutting is what interests me, harvesters are cool but I just can't see myself sitting in a cab full time. I've read all the stuff before about "you gotta be crazy to do this" etc. etc. and pass all those checklists. Don't mind nasty weather a bit (just finished thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail so I've been living outsie six months straight) and nothing feels more like home than when I've got a chainsaw in my hands, even on Friday evening after it's been kicking my ass all week.
A little about my experience level, my last several jobs were farm and sugarbush operations that had me felling trees as a significant portion of the work. I'm competent with bore cutting, wedging, hard leans, identifying hazards, etc. getting wood on the ground in one piece without killing myself I just don't yet have the same speed as someone doing this day in day out for years. I haven't run an actual skidder but I've done skidding with a 3 point winch and run other heavy equipment, skid steers and tractors up to 130 horse.
I know there is a HUGE variation in numbers nationwide so I am not looking for an exact figure but I'm just having a hard time even finding a baseline to negotiate with prospective employers. I think I'm walking a fine line pay wise between doing my time as an underdog, outright getting screwed, and scaring potential jobs off by shooting too high. I'm looking at jobs in northern New England, especially VT. I'm communicating with one company in VT right now. I read on the Bureau of Labor Statistics site that nationwide median for a faller is $16.07/hr. so I thought a few bucks below that is probably a starting point for someone like myself, familiar with cutting but still a greenhorn to doing it on a production basis. Does that sound reasonable to you folks? I also realize many jobs pay by the ton or by the thousand but what I'm looking at right now is hourly, I would appreciate average numbers for that payment method if folks have them. Any other advice about getting into the business you can provide is also appreciated, so far my impression is that it's a hard thing to get your foot in the door of but somehow lots of people have done it. Thanks a lot.
As the title says I'm looking to start full time work in the logging industry as a faller. Hand cutting is what interests me, harvesters are cool but I just can't see myself sitting in a cab full time. I've read all the stuff before about "you gotta be crazy to do this" etc. etc. and pass all those checklists. Don't mind nasty weather a bit (just finished thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail so I've been living outsie six months straight) and nothing feels more like home than when I've got a chainsaw in my hands, even on Friday evening after it's been kicking my ass all week.
A little about my experience level, my last several jobs were farm and sugarbush operations that had me felling trees as a significant portion of the work. I'm competent with bore cutting, wedging, hard leans, identifying hazards, etc. getting wood on the ground in one piece without killing myself I just don't yet have the same speed as someone doing this day in day out for years. I haven't run an actual skidder but I've done skidding with a 3 point winch and run other heavy equipment, skid steers and tractors up to 130 horse.
I know there is a HUGE variation in numbers nationwide so I am not looking for an exact figure but I'm just having a hard time even finding a baseline to negotiate with prospective employers. I think I'm walking a fine line pay wise between doing my time as an underdog, outright getting screwed, and scaring potential jobs off by shooting too high. I'm looking at jobs in northern New England, especially VT. I'm communicating with one company in VT right now. I read on the Bureau of Labor Statistics site that nationwide median for a faller is $16.07/hr. so I thought a few bucks below that is probably a starting point for someone like myself, familiar with cutting but still a greenhorn to doing it on a production basis. Does that sound reasonable to you folks? I also realize many jobs pay by the ton or by the thousand but what I'm looking at right now is hourly, I would appreciate average numbers for that payment method if folks have them. Any other advice about getting into the business you can provide is also appreciated, so far my impression is that it's a hard thing to get your foot in the door of but somehow lots of people have done it. Thanks a lot.