Climbing arborist position

Hello! I have been a climbing arborist that has since been promoted to management role & sales position.

I loved being a Climbing Arborist. The job kicks ass. It's also hard, you'll have long hours, and some days will kick YOUR ass. BUT! It's so worth it. I would not be in any other industry. The money is good, but it depends on what your location is and will certainly be lower for entry level employees. A good company should be paying you better than retail or most other service jobs, even at entry level.100% worth getting your ISA Certification. It increases your pay (most likely), connects you to the industry, and opens the door to more opportunities.

You'll also really need to focus on getting a CDL. Go for a Class A with Air Brakes. You'll be incredibly valuable and can take it anywhere you go. Keep in mind that the State DOT can pull random drug tests and requires a drug test every 2 years to maintain your CDL. This is on top of your employer drug testing upon hire and their own random drug tests. Bigger professional companies will certainly drug test you and for sure will test you after incidents (I've been there... I'm not perfect!)

I would also tell people to buy good quality boots. Even though they're expensive they are so much better than a cheap pair from Walmart or Fleet Farm. Have a learning attitude. Assume you have something to learn from everyone. Ask a lot of questions and keep moving when you're on a job site.

I advocate for Davey Tree in your case as they have a great variety of jobs between their Residential Tree Care offices, the Davey Resource Group (they do municipal and larger environmental projects), and they have a Utility division.

Best of luck and feel free to reach out if you run into other questions!

Absolutely love being one, I got a bachelor's in a closely related field to sustainability and found it helpful and pertinent.

I started off with a private company, so I worked as a groundsman before becoming a climber then running my own crew. Take your time, ask questions, and listen to what you are told. A good dose of humility will get you a long way, it is a very dangerous job and not listening to experienced workers can end poorly for you. Pay your dues as a groundsperson and focus on being the best groundie that you can, it will make you a much better climber.

Job is great: thrilling, challenging both mentally and physically (no need for a gym membership), and varied(every tree is a new problem). Certification is definitely worth it, get it when you can. Many employers will even pay for it. ISA certification can also denote a higher quality outfit. In my part of the world the fly by night outfits aren't certified while the quality arborists are.

I am currently a municipal arborist, so I have a CDL and can be drug tested anytime. Many outfits go this route if they have boom trucks or large chip trucks. Pay is not as good in the private sector, but the benefits and stability of the work are much better. Work in the private industry can be seasonal, at least it can be in my area. We have a robust GIS system with a full inventory at my municipality, and it has been neat to dive a bit into that world.

You may struggle with some removals morally, as in the private sector you do whatever the client pays for. This can cause the death of perfectly healthy trees because "they drop too many leaves." That being said, once you gain enough experience or become a bidder you can talk up the benefits of trees and talk some clients out of removal.

To sum it up, it is an awesome career; it caters to people who are hardworking and resilient. Check your ego at the door. I went into this career with a college degree and thought I was hot shit because I was more educated than my coworkers. I got my ass handed to me multiple times, and learned many things the hard way. I cannot emphasize how dangerous the work is, but if you work for a safety conscious team with experience they can guide and mentor you.

I hope you do choose to pursue this as a career and am happy to answer any other questions you might have.

[deleted]