No experience. That’s the whole point.
Nobody is born knowing how to take down a tree
Chris started out cutting grass for a woman at her summer home. He took on a tree to make enough money for a dirt bike and never really left the trade. That is a normal way into this work. It is close to the only way.
We hire people with no tree experience, put them on the ground crew, pay them from the first day, and teach them the rest. If you are the kind of person who would rather be outside in Pittsburgh weather than behind a counter, keep reading. This page is written for you and not for a climber with ten years in.
“I started cutting trees to buy a dirt bike and fell in love with the game.”
What the job actually is, before you apply
Most people find this out in week one. We would rather you knew now, because the ones who quit on day three cost everybody a week.
A groundman is the person on the dirt. You drag brush to the chipper, run the ropes the climber sends down, keep the saws fueled, and rake the yard until it looks better than it did when the truck pulled up. It is the job every climber in this trade did first, including ours.
- It is physical, all dayYou will be moving wood from roughly seven in the morning until the yard is clean. Most people are honestly wrecked the first week and fine by the third.
- Weather is part of itPittsburgh gives you humid Augusts and a lot of cold rain. We work through most of it and we tell you the night before when we are not.
- It is loud and it has real riskSaws, chippers, and falling wood. Every rule we have exists because somebody somewhere ignored it. We are strict on the ground and we will not apologize for it.
- Ask about the pay on the phoneWe would rather tell you the number out loud than post a range that turns out not to apply to you. It starts where green help starts and it moves as you get useful. Nobody here is getting rich in month one.
- You go home filthySawdust in places you did not know you had. Some people hate that. Some people find it is the best part of the day.
How somebody with zero experience turns into a climber
There is no school for this that matters more than time on a crew. Here is the honest shape of it, based on how the people currently on our trucks got here. Nobody moves on a schedule. You move when the work says you are ready.
You drag brush and you watch everything
Your whole job is the chipper, the rake, and staying out of the drop zone. Sounds simple. It is not, because you are also learning to read where a piece of wood is going before it gets there. The crew will be telling you a lot. None of it is personal.
“The crew will be telling you a lot. None of it is personal.”
Standing rule on the groundThe ropes start making sense
You learn knots, then you learn which knot for which situation and why the wrong one is dangerous. You start running the lowering line on smaller pieces with somebody watching. This is the point where most people either fall for the work or figure out it is not for them.
Saw work on the ground, and your first time off the dirt
Bucking logs, limbing what comes down, running the stump grinder. If you want to climb, this is usually when you get put on a rope in a low, friendly tree with nothing underneath you but grass. Some people want that. Some people would rather run equipment, and that is a real career too.
Certifications, and the choice of where you go
We are EHAP trained here because we work near power lines and that knowledge is not optional. Once you have shown you will stick, we will talk about getting you the same training, and about a CDL if you want to be the one driving the chip truck. From there the trade splits. Climber, crane operator, crew lead, or eventually the person with their name on their own truck. Chris took that last route and will not pretend it is easy.
What we actually need from you
None of this has anything to do with a resume. We have hired people out of warehouses, kitchens, landscaping, and straight out of high school. What we cannot teach is showing up.
- You are 18 or older
- You can get to the shop by 7am
- A driver’s license helps, no CDL needed
- You can carry heavy things repeatedly
- You listen when somebody yells a warning
- You are fine being told you did it wrong
- You do not disappear on Mondays
- Boots. We will tell you which kind
Veterans, we are glad to see you. A lot of this trade runs on the same habits the service already gave you, and the discount we give customers is a small piece of how we feel about it.
If you already have tree experience, apply anyway and tell us what you have run. We are not full up on skill. This page just talks to the green hands first because they are the ones who think they cannot do it.
Do not buy anything yet
Boots and clothes you can ruin, that is your whole shopping list. Saws, helmets, chaps, eye and ear protection, ropes, and every piece of climbing hardware come off our truck. If you are unsure what boots, call (412) 526-2028 before you spend money, or ask through our contact page and somebody will answer.
Come work with us
Fill this out, or skip it entirely and just call. A phone call is honestly the fastest way to get an answer out of us, and it tells us more than a form does.
(412) 526-2028If we are up a tree when you ring, leave a message. We call back from the ground.
Prefer to write? thattreeguy412@gmail.com. Want to see the kind of work you would be doing first? The gallery is all our own jobs on real Pittsburgh streets, and the about page explains who you would be working for.
We hire year round and we hire hardest before spring. If the timing is wrong when you reach out, say so and we will keep you on the list. Customers looking for tree work should head to our contact page instead, so the applications stay in one place.
The questions people actually ask
I have genuinely never touched a chainsaw. Is applying a waste of your time?
No, and this is the single most common thing people ask us. The ground crew is where everyone starts and we expect to teach you. We would rather have somebody green who listens than somebody experienced who has picked up bad habits around a drop zone.
Do I need my own saws or climbing gear?
You need work boots and clothes you do not mind destroying. Everything else is ours, including saws, helmets, chaps, eye and ear protection, and all the climbing hardware. Do not go spend money on gear before you have talked to us.
Is this seasonal, or can I count on it?
Tree work in Pittsburgh runs all year. Winter is when a lot of removals happen because the leaves are gone and frozen ground is easier on a yard. Storms do not respect the calendar either. There are slow weeks in deep winter and we are straight with you about them rather than letting you find out on payday.
How old do I have to be?
Eighteen. There is no exception on that one, and it is not our rule to bend. The federal limits on this equipment are what they are.
Do I need a CDL or a clean driving record?
Not to start. A regular license makes you more useful because you can move a truck between jobs, but the crew carpools out of the shop plenty. If you want a CDL later we will talk about helping you get one, because somebody has to drive the chip truck.
What does a day look like?
Meet at the shop early, load, drive to the first job. Most residential removals take somewhere between half a day and a full one. On a good day you are at two or three properties. You get home dirty and you sleep well.
What makes somebody not work out here?
Almost always attendance, not ability. People who show up every day get taught, get raises, and get to climb. People who go quiet for a couple of days do not, because a three-person crew with two people on it is a safety problem, not an inconvenience.
Rather just talk?
Call (412) 526-2028 and say you are calling about work, not a tree. We will tell you in about five minutes whether we are hiring right now and what the next step is.
We are based in Pittsburgh, PA 15223 and the trucks run a twenty mile circle around it across the North Hills.
We hire year round, and hardest right before spring. Green hands welcome.
Nobody on this crew knew what they were doing at the start. They showed up anyway, and now they are the ones teaching the next person.
Get On The Crew