How did you get into tree work?

Pops was a part time logger. Each of us (his 6 boys) worked in the woods at one time or another. I went from a skidder operator to line clearance then residential treework. I took a break one summer to do concrete work but found my way back to the trees. I really enjoy what I do.
 
Another case of wildfire here. USFWS. Lots of trigger time. Had a few friends that climbed. One thing led to another............
Just took my CA exam on Friday. I feel like I did well, We will see.
 
My younger friend made 225K (at age 21) his second year in it.
I said, "If he can do it, so can I".

13 years later, even though I complain about certain parts, I still love it. (especially being out in production).
 
I had graduated from college with a forestry degree, and was logging with horses for no money. A friend of my girlfriend's family was a foreman for Davey's Louisville office. They needed a climber trainee and I accepted the position. Davey shut down their office 6 mo. later and the foreman and I went to work for a local tree service. I became burnt out after a year, and took a job with the USFS in Idaho. I met my wife there, spent a few months working for a tree company in Spokane, WA., and then had to move back to Louisville for financial reasons. I returned as a foreman for yet another Louisville company, burnt out, worked for another company, had a kid and then burnt out, went to grad school in SC, worked for a company there for two years, was fired, worked as a contract climber for a few months to earn cash, moved back to Louisville, and got Limbwalker off ther ground with Cory. We've been doing that for the last three years. Whew. When I write it down, it sounds like a whirlwind. I enjoy tree work now more than I ever have, and am lucky to work with so many great people and know so many great friends in the climbing community.
 
im one of those guys whos been workin since i was like 12 or 13.Paperboy ,dishwasher etc.Needed A summer job one year and my friends step dad was a climber for a tree service.May of 1984.Started as a groundie...Loved it especially running lines....I fell in love with ropes and trees.Within short order i began to climb and was running a crew in about 2 years. I really never looked back.Did take on a summer union job once workin as a fitter on a gas main job .......went running back to tree work !!!I got it real bad man!!!! Still love it!
 
"How did you get into tree work?"

I ask myself that question often. LOL!

It was the family business, and after 4 years of college and 4 years of working in engineering as an industrial automation specialist, I guess I just liked tree work better. (Although I still do the engineering as a part-time consultant thing; the money is hard to walk away from.)
 
Climbed since I was a kid, to find some peace in the sky. Trees have always been my refuge and my strength. Lots of folks retire before my age but I can't imagine doing anything else better, or anything else at all. It's fascinating and fun!

The closest to fun i've had on another job was building scaffolds next to high-rise condos, walking on 12" boards carrying 12" boards above all that air, without a rope and without a net. So i guess i'm a thrill-seeker by nature. still like climbing but after 43 years it's kinda ho-hum, Wrapping my head around a diagnosis or crafting a report is a greater challenge now.

Met and learned from many great people in this field; hope to meet and learn from many more.

Trees Please!
 
saw a guy next door to my house climbing a tree when i was 10 years old. went to the library the next day checked out all the books i could about trees and started to study them. at 15 started to drag brush for a local guy and at 17 right after highschool started to climb. 25 years later i am where i am good or bad.
 
Spent a lot of time growing up in the woods playing around, always fascinated with logging etc. Earned a B.Sc in Forestry, spent a summer working for Davey and was exposed to tree climbing/and caring for trees (other than for lumber) then spent a summer with a utility as a student forester and still have not left the utility field. Always wanted to be a forest ranger though, well there still time later in life.
 
I lived in PA and wanted to move to DE my cousin was a tree climber back in the 80s till he passed away and my brother went on to be a climber so I asked him to get me a job with him so I could move to De and not worry about a job and when I got on my feet I would find something else. His boss was a little worried cause I was a woman but my brother knew I was a good worker and talked him in to it. I ended up working for him for 4 years and taking care of his company cause he got into drugs. Now where I live everyone knows everyone and it opened up the door for the company that I work for now. (my old boss couldnt kick the habit and I didnt want people to thing I was doing what he was doing) so now 7 years later still doing it and still love it!!!
 
I was working part time in a Bakery in Seattle while I was studying horticulture and working full time at a small retail nursery when I met an arborist. We would talk about trees when he came in. One day he said he was moving to Olympia to start his own business.
Two years later when my then girlfriend and I decided to move to Olympia I had to find work there. At the time (still in Seattle) I was doing landscape maintenance for a small firm when I saw this guy walk into a deli.
I parked the truck as fast as I could and followed him in, introduced myself, reminded him how I new him and explained my situation.
He agreed to hire me when I moved down. We actually stayed at his house for two weeks until our place was available.
I helped prune fruit trees and small ornamentals and ran ropes and cleanup on BIG takedowns and pruning jobs.
When he moved to Maui I started my own business that evolved into a full on tree service within a year.
The ISA has been great for me, it was contacts through ISA that I was able to find employment 5 years ago when we once again moved across the country and I had no job prospects.
The thing I like most about this career is there is always more to learn (and being with trees of course.)
 
Let's see. I was finishing up my degree in biology and was absolutely in love with trees when a friend invited me to meet an arborist and climb. My first climbing experience was not pretty. I did get to about fifty feet in a pin oak, and thought it was the greatest thing I had ever done (next to having a baby). I ended up marrying that arborist, and he has been passing on information to me. I am now working on my masters degree, and I am working on tree stuff for that as well (I am a TA for a ID of Woody Plants class too). I do as much climbing as I can squeeze in, and tree work on the weekends.
 
My ex father-in-law was in Nam doing the same thing. I can't remember what year? I just remember that he said he was a lineman for the air force. Sounded like it was dangerous with enemy snipers lurking around! Thanks for your service Ger.
 
Travilin farm worker to dole Q. Want to wrk & livin van, tree wrk got me out of many holes. Nuff respect to all my old sch mentor,s:) It just gets in2 your blood as i hope it will 2 my kids:)
 
I started when i was 15 doing some small jobs with a friend.I thought it was fun so i dropped out of school and took GED classes for 2 hours 2 days a week and worked the rest. Worked the ground for a couple of months and decided i could get out of dragging brush if i climbed so i did.Then my buddy got a bucket and i started that too.I have worked for a handful of companies and now i am working for the best in central illinois.I have met a lot of good people in the industry while changing job and chasing storms. i love different jobs every day ,different obstacles, and love the outdoor
 
Penn State offers (or offered) a tree climbing course. I took it my last semester there, and figured out what I was going to do with my forest biology BS. I really didn't want to be in a lab or a classroom for a while, so becoming a working arborist seemed pretty appealing. It still appeals to me on a daily basis.
Going to three-way cable a giant tulip-poplar this morning, wish me luck!
 
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