I was one for a few years after doing various courses at Sparsholt and Newton Rigg, hard work in all weathers, money not great for the outlay and effort but didn’t have many responsibilities then. Young man’s game as others have said. But it did lead into rural estate management so still plenty of outside work but without the risk and better money as I got older, less fit and did have more responsibilities. Mind you a couple of my counterparts who trained when I did are still doing it 25 years later somehow, fair play to them, crosscutting and stacking logs for the fire is enough for me now.

Just cost me £400 for one sycamore tree felling, burnable logs cut to length & stacked and remainder chipping and taking away.

Most expensive quote I got was £450.

#harrogatetax

Haha – try Winchester, Hants. The cheapest quotes we have for the same were both a grand. And both were mates rates! Highest was £1.8k.

The sycamore lives on

I always found climbing the least knackering part of the job to be honest.

Doing the groundwork side is full on physical. Lowering limbs on ropes, clearing up before the next big piece comes down to save yourself more hassle etc. Where it really gets hectic is on a partial road closure with lights, you need eyes in the back of your head. I actually had a troupe of roadies riding up the hill we were on inside the cones, in the work area. I told them to piss off and the leader gave me a load of lip about how we were endangering them by making them ride in the road with the traffic! FFS if you don’t like traffic get a mountain bike instead.

Yeah you have more to go wrong up the tree but it’s much more relaxing.

I’ve known good operators hurt themselves with saws but very few won’t acknowledge that they were doing something wrong at the time. They are dangerous but if you’re careful you’ll have a good chance of being just fine. Put it this way, I know I was in more danger in the Transit on the way home.

im 45 and am still climbing with no ill effects, it can be badly paid if you just apply for a job with a local arb firm. I did my time running a powerline clearance team for a few years and now do domestic work for myself and work for a few ecological consultancy type companies. As with everything if you are prepared to work for very little (some do) it’s not worth it. Im lucky in the respact that my customers/clients are prepared to pay a decent wage, some are not. You cant really just do your tickets and go out alone or contract climb as you just wont be up to speed or have the experience to keep yourself safe. The best route in is to get your tickets and then get some time as a groundie/second climber but its likely to be crap wages. If you relish hard physical work and are prepared to work for not a great wage initially then go for it. Its not for everyone but i still absolutely love it.

I personally wouldn’t do it due to the risk of injury, but as per myti above will throw in a suggestion to look at garden maintenance and/or landscaping. If you are reliable it’s really a reasonable way to make a living.

I’m taking home well above a national average salary (over a year) working just 3 days a week, pretty much 9 months a year. I don’t do garden clearances or landscaping, just grass cutting, lawn care, general maintenance visits, weed control and a bit of planting. I’ve turned down work almost every day this year, it’s been bonkers.

A friend of mine set up on his own about 5 years ago. I started giving him a hand the odd day here and there, now I generally work with him one or two days a week felling, snedding, chipping splitting etc.

Just the two of you? I’ve thought that’d be work for tree fellers…

A friend of mine started off as a tree officer, did her courses, spent a few years climbing and moved into teaching at an arboricultural college, more exams, moved into consultancy then set up on her consultancy working for big money developers, then worked for MOD managing their trees over a bunch of army camps in south of england, then took over their groundcare management as well, then got tired of management and HR rather than being outside. Now back to being a tree officer again! And sorting her back out after years of abuse.

So loads of directions to go if you feel like it, depending on how restless you are and how much you want to learn.