Are you interested in learning how to know if you have what it takes to be a logger? If so, read on to learn some of the responsibilities and challenges inherent to the profession. Logging is a rewarding but incredibly difficult career. It’s not for the faint of heart. However, people up to the task benefit by working with their hands in beautiful, outdoor settings.
Physical Strength
The logging profession puts a tremendous amount of pressure on its workers’ bodies. Many of the responsibilities and positions of a logger require them to be in top physical condition. Workers distinguish between specialized roles by using a whole collection of logging terminology.
Tree climbers, for instance, strap on harnesses and climb trees while carrying heavy equipment. They scale trees to remove the trees’ limbs. Buckers also have a very physically demanding job. They use chainsaws to cut felled trees down to their desired lengths. If you think you’re in good enough shape to take on these tasks, logging may be a viable career path.
Great Reflexes
Though the industry invests heavily into safety for its employees, logging sites are still dangerous places. Loggers need to contend with the constant threat of several tons of wood crashing onto them from above.
Fallers—the loggers that cut down trees with chainsaws—need to be ready to leap out of the way if the tree they’re cutting falls back onto them. The chokermen are in even more danger. They cross fields covered with huge logs to strap hooks and cables onto downed trees. At any moment, the logs can crush them, so constant surveillance and strong reflexes are a must for this job. Think about whether you can handle that kind of pressure.
Comfortable Outside
Logging is an outdoor industry, which can be its greatest appeal to many loggers. But no one should go into logging believing that it will be all blue skies and rainbows. If you want to figure out how to know if you have what it takes to be a logger, you should ask yourself how much you would enjoy working in the rain. You may also find that bugs surround you on many days. Working with frozen hands in cold climates is also a likely possibility.
Attention to Detail
Logging isn’t just about brute strength or rough-and-tumble grit. A good portion of the work can be mental as well.
Log graders and scalers are responsible for measuring logs to determine their volume. Furthermore, they examine logs for defects. Log sorters mark and organize felled trees based on their species, ownership, and size. If you would like to take on either of these positions, you must have a keen sense of observation and order.
