Is an arborist the same as a lumberjack?
How the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET file tree care and tree felling for timber under different occupations, and what the National Careers Service says a tree surgeon does.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
None of the pages read for this answer uses the word lumberjack. They use the job titles faller and logger for people who cut trees for timber, and arborist, tree trimmer and tree surgeon for people who care for individual trees. This page sets out what each source says. For the arborist and tree surgeon question, see arborist and tree surgeon.
United States: two separate occupations
O*NET, the US Department of Labor occupation database, lists Tree Trimmers and Pruners under code 37-3013.00. It describes the work as climbing and rigging to remove dead or surplus branches, keeping roads, sidewalks and utility routes clear, or improving how a tree looks and how healthy and valuable it is. The reported job titles include Arborist, Climber and Tree Trimmer.
O*NET lists Fallers separately, under code 45-4021.00. It describes the work as felling trees with axes or chainsaws, steering the direction of fall and limiting damage to the tree. The reported titles include Logger, Timber Faller and Tree Feller. Its task list includes measuring felled trees and cutting them into specified log lengths, which is the timber side of the job.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics files fallers under logging workers. Its logging workers page says these workers harvest trees to provide the raw material for consumer and industrial products. It says fallers cut down trees with hand-held power chain saws, often where the ground is inaccessible to large equipment, and that logging equipment operators run machines such as tree harvesters and feller bunchers. The page says logging is physically demanding and can be dangerous. It does not mention tree trimmers. The Bureau covers tree trimmers inside its grounds maintenance workers page instead, as set out in is arborist work seasonal.
England: tree surgery
The National Careers Service profile for a tree surgeon lists day-to-day tasks that include climbing trees to cut back or remove branches, cutting down and removing trees and stumps, and planting trees and assessing their health. It lists places of work such as parks and gardens, streets, woodland and rail tracks. Its entry routes are a university course, a college course, an apprenticeship or working towards the role, and it says a person may start as a forest labourer or groundworker helping a qualified tree surgeon. The profile does not use the word logger.
Side by side
| Source | Tree care and pruning | Felling for timber |
|---|---|---|
| O*NET | Tree Trimmers and Pruners, 37-3013.00, titles include Arborist and Climber | Fallers, 45-4021.00, titles include Logger and Tree Feller |
| Bureau of Labor Statistics | Inside grounds maintenance workers | Inside logging workers, which the page says harvest trees as raw material |
| National Careers Service (England) | Tree surgeon: climbing, cutting down and removing trees and stumps, and planting | Not described on the tree surgeon profile |
Where the work overlaps
Both O*NET occupations use chainsaws, and both involve felling trees. O*NET's tree trimmer tasks include pruning and cutting down trees as directed by tree surgeons, and its faller tasks include assessing site, terrain and weather conditions before cutting. On the weather question, O*NET survey answers differ in degree: 97 percent of faller respondents and 91 percent of tree trimmer respondents answered that the work is outdoors and exposed to all weather conditions every day. The sources do not say whether a person can move from one occupation to the other.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 for the National Careers Service profiles.