“Fallers fall, but they don’t fail.”

Andreas Bacher, Poet

Pros and Cons of Working as a Faller

advantages and disadvantages of being a faller

You think about becoming a faller?

Wait until you read all the pros and cons of being a faller in this article.

After checking out all the arguments, chances are that you may want to go an alternative career path instead.

Faller Job Profile

Short Job DescriptionFallers are responsible for cutting down trees so that our supply of wood can be assured.
Salary$48,000 per year on average, most fallers make between $42,000 – $65,000 per year.
Job SecurityRather poor job security since fallers are replaceable.
Job SatisfactionGood if you love working in natural environments.
Work-Life BalanceDecent work-life balance since you will have free national holidays and weekends.
Physically / Mentally Demanding?Physically demanding job.
Future OutlookRather poor since many jobs will be lost to automatization in the near future.
RequirementsNo special educational requirements.

Advantages of Being a Faller

  1. Fallers can work in nature
  2. You can avoid computer work
  3. Fallers can use machines which make their lives easier
  4. Working as a faller means going back to the roots
  5. You will have a standard workweek
  6. Fallers don’t have to work on weekends or holidays
  7. Good work-life balance of fallers
  8. Working as a faller is rather relaxed
  9. Fallers keep our system running
  10. You can see the results of your labor
  11. Fallers don’t need to go to the gym
  12. No high barriers to entry
  13. You don’t need a college degree for becoming a faller
  14. You can avoid student loan debt
  15. Fallers can earn money right after finishing school

Fallers can work in nature

One important advantage of being a faller is that you can work in the middle of nature.

While other people just have to sit in front of a computer all day long, you can spend your time in beautiful forests and meadows and can do your work.

Many people in our current state of the world secretly wish they were able to work in such a beautiful environment.

Yet, they have to do some nonsense work every day but don’t have the courage to change anything.

As a faller, similar to foresters, you can work in places where many people secretly want to work and you can also make your friends envious by sending nice pictures of what you experience while they just have to work in rather unpleasant locations.

You can avoid computer work

In general, in nowadays society, many jobs are carried out in an office with a computer.

While some people like office work, many others don’t like it at all and many people feel like there is just something missing in their lives.

In fact, offices are rather artificial environments and have nothing to do with how humans evolved over thousands of years.

Thus, it is quite logical why many people just don’t feel comfortable sitting in front of a computer for many hours every day.

As a faller, you can avoid working in those artificial environments but can spend almost your whole workday in nature instead.

Fallers can use machines which make their lives easier

In former times, working as a faller had been pretty exhausting. Just one century ago, fallers had to do all the manual work by hand.

However, thanks to our modern technologies, fallers can now rely on chainsaws and additional machines that can make their work life just much more enjoyable and easier since less physical power will be needed to get the job done.

Sure, there is still plenty of manual work involved in this field.

Yet, the job has just become much easier compared to former times.

Working as a faller means going back to the roots

Since humans evolved in natural environments like forests for an extended period of time, working as a faller can also be regarded as going back to the roots.

In fact, many fallers feel a deep connection with nature and really feel like they belong to this place.

This is no surprise since it is deep inside our DNA to go back to nature from time to time and live as our ancestors did for many thousands of years.

Hence, as a faller, you can also experience how your ancestors lived for quite a long time in the past and you can also honor them by doing the same work as they did.

You will have a standard workweek

Another benefit of being a faller is that you also have a pretty standardized workweek.

Many fallers just work 9 to 5 and some of them even only work part-time.

This means that you will have plenty of opportunities to plan your leisure since you will exactly know when your workday will be over and when you can meet up with friends.

It also means that you will have enough time to spend with your kids since you will come home pretty early in the evening.

Fallers don’t have to work on weekends or holidays

As a faller, you also don’t have to work on holidays or weekends.

Instead, you can spend precious time with your family.

In fact, you can make many weekend trips with your family and can make many nice experiences.

You will also have plenty of leisure to see your kids grow up and can also spend enough time with your spouse.

Free weekends also give you much greater flexibility since you can do many things in your household and can also fix broken things yourself.

By doing so, you can avoid paying significant amounts of money for repairs, at least if you are skilled in this field and are willing to put in the work.

Good work-life balance of fallers

In general, if you work as a faller, you will not feel like you are working too much.

Many days will just fly and you will wonder where all the time at work has been gone.

Since you will have free weekends, free holidays and will come back home rather early, you will just have plenty of time for your hobbies and you will also be able to meet up with many friends during the week.

While many other people have to work, you can really enjoy plenty of leisure and can spend this time on things and tasks you like more than work.

Working as a faller is rather relaxed

You will also not experience extreme time pressure or stress like in many other jobs out there.

Sure, you will also have to achieve a certain workload to make your boss happy.

However, you will not have those strict time limits like in many office jobs where you are forced to prepare presentations in a rather short period of time and you often don’t know how this should be possible.

Since you will also be in nature and can breathe fresh air, chances are that you will be far less stressed compared to working in other jobs.

Fallers keep our system running

As a faller, you can also get a good feeling from work since you will know that you are doing something useful for society.

Imagine a world without fallers.

We would simply not be able to produce any goods from wood and we would also not be able to use wood for heating purposes.

In fact, a world without fallers would not look the same as we know it today and it would make our quality of life just much lower.

Hence, as a faller, you will be responsible to assure people’s wood supply and you will therefore be an important part of the overall production chain.

You can see the results of your labor

Another upside to working as a faller is that you will also be able to see the true results of your labor.

While many people who work in office jobs just work on things that are long-term and will not have an immediate benefit for the company they work for, you as a faller will see the results of your work every day since you will see how many trees you have cut down.

This can give you plenty of job satisfaction since you will directly see what your hands can be doing instead of having to wait for true results for an extended period of time or even seeing no results at all.

Fallers don’t need to go to the gym

Fallers will also be able to stay fit in a completely natural manner.

Since they will carry out plenty of manual physical work, there will just be no need to go to the gym since fallers get plenty of exercise during their jobs.

This also means that you can spend your leisure on other things you like more compared to going to the gym as many people have to do in our current state in the world.

Also your risk of obesity will be rather low since you will exercise enough and burn enough calories during work.

No high barriers to entry

You also don’t need high levels of education to become a faller.

Quite often, it will be enough to finish high school and you will be good to go.

In some states, you don’t even need to complete school for that, especially in areas where nobody wants to do this job anymore.

Consequently, even though your grades may be quite bad, don’t let this discourage you.

Chances are that you will still be able to work as a faller if you can convince companies that you are just the right person for this job and are willing to work hard.

You don’t need a college degree for becoming a faller

You can also avoid the need to go to college as a logger.

Many people in our current state of the world think that going to college and getting a degree should be the gold standard and everything else should be considered dodgy.

While going to college can have some advantages and is necessary for getting into some fields, it is definitely not for everyone and especially if you are the kind of person who doesn’t like going to school and doesn’t want to get additional education, becoming a faller might be far more suitable for you.

You can avoid student loan debt

Since you will not have to go to college for becoming a lumberjack, you can also avoid student loan debt and the adverse financial long-term consequences.

Many college students forget that they have to pay back their loans later on in their lives and many of them will struggle to do so.

In fact, it can take many years for the average college student to repay his or her debt and this time will be missing when it comes to financing a home for your family in your early years.

Fallers can earn money right after finishing school

In fact, while many other people will struggle to pay off college debt and to pay their bills at the same time, you can earn money right after finishing school and can start building wealth pretty early in your life.

You can also become independent of your parents pretty soon and learn to stand on your own feet as a faller.

Disadvantages of Being a Faller

  1. Fallers don’t make much money
  2. Working as a faller can be dangerous
  3. Being a faller may become boring
  4. Fallers have a rather low social standing
  5. Hard to switch fields for fallers
  6. Difficult time to find a partner
  7. Fallers mainly find work in rural areas
  8. Hands-on work that can be physically exhausting
  9. Working as a faller may become problematic once you get older
  10. You have to work outdoors under extreme weather conditions
  11. Fallers are replaceable
  12. You can’t work from home
  13. Fallers may become obsolete in the future
  14. Becoming a faller is not that popular anymore

Fallers don’t make much money

Now that you got all the advantages of becoming a faller, it is time to talk about the downsides related to this career path.

For instance, one problem with being a faller is that you will just not be able to make lots of money while dentists and many other people make significantly more on average.

The average salary of a faller in the US is around $48,000 per year and you will often not be able to afford to buy your own home with this low salary.

You will also not be able to afford any luxury, especially if your partner makes even less than you or doesn’t work at all.

Consequently, before becoming a faller, make sure that you know that you will face some financial constraints in the future and that you will just not be able to live a luxurious life.

If money is really important to you, you should definitely go for an alternative career path instead.

Working as a faller can be dangerous

Being a faller is also not the safest job.

In fact, many fallers become injured sooner or later due to accidents with machines they are operating or also just due to branches that fall on their heads.

Many people don’t know it, but there is a significant number of fallers who lose their lives every year in the United States due to these issues.

While you might not lose your life, you may also become disabled due to accidents and you should make sure that you are willing to take those risks before deciding to go in this direction.

Being a faller may become boring

Another downside to working as a faller is that you may simply become bored in the long run.

Sure, it may be exciting to operate chain saws and other equipment at the beginning of your work life.

However, over time, many tasks will just repeat every day and you will just no longer be that excited to go to work unless you have a real passion for this type of work.

Hence, before deciding for a career as a faller, make sure that this is what you really want to since your fun at work will be pretty limited without this level of interest in the long run.

Fallers have a rather low social standing

Many people will also not understand your decision to become a faller.

In fact, many people would rather want to send you to college since they think that you would have better job security and would also become happier in the long run.

Many people also don’t see the real value fallers create for society.

Hence, you will often just not be considered as that important while doctors and people who work in other highly reputable fields will just steal you the show.

Hard to switch fields for fallers

Fallers also work in a rather narrow field. You will just log trees all day long.

While you will learn to do so in perfection, you will just not learn any skills that might be valuable in different fields and you will therefore also have a pretty difficult time finding a different job in case you get annoyed with woodwork sometime in the future.

Thus, you should really make sure that working as a faller is your passion since you will likely have to work in this field forever.

Difficult time to find a partner

Since your social status and your income will be rather low, you will often have a pretty difficult time in the dating market.

While people may tell you a different story, the reality is that money and status still matter significantly and that people who work as lawyers or doctors will have a much easier time in this regard.

Fallers mainly find work in rural areas

Depending on the region you live in, you may also have real difficulties with finding a job as a faller.

In fact, many lumberjacks are needed in rural areas while fallers are barely needed in metropolitan areas at all.

Therefore, if you currently live in an urban area, you may have to move or commute to work long hours every day and this may not be practicable at all in the long run.

Hands-on work that can be physically exhausting

Another downside of being a faller is that you will still have to do plenty of physical work.

Sure, machines can help you to make your workday easier.

Yet, there are still many minor tasks that have to be done by hand and this can really hurt your bones in the long run.

Working as a faller may become problematic once you get older

In fact, many fallers report physical health problems like back pain in their older years and some of them even have to quit their jobs since it would simply be too painful to do this exhausting work any longer.

In turn, many older fallers will suffer from significant poverty since they will no longer have an income but still have to pay their bills somehow.

You have to work outdoors under extreme weather conditions

Fallers also have no choice whether they have to work during nice summer days or during extreme rain or snow.

In fact, fallers have to work outdoors under extreme conditions while other people can just sit in a cozy office and have heating and air conditioning to make their office life as convenient as possible.

Fallers are replaceable

Since fallers don’t have to get plenty of education to carry out their work, they are rather replaceable.

This also means that you will suffer from pretty high uncertainty regarding job security and that you might lose your job from one day to the other.

This can be mentally exhausting since you may always fear what might happen in the future and that you may even end up homeless one day.

You can’t work from home

While many other people who work in office jobs will be able to work from home at least few days of the week, you will have to be present at work in person.

This means that you will also be less flexible regarding your family life since you will not be able to pick up your kids from school during your workday.

Fallers may become obsolete in the future

Also future job prospects of fallers will be rather poor.

Due to artificial intelligence and machine learning, many fallers will become obsolete in the future since machines will just be able to carry out most of the work that is currently still done by humans.

Becoming a faller is not that popular anymore

In general, a career as a faller is also not that popular in society anymore.

In fact, the work of fallers is just not that appreciated by the general public and there are many jobs where you would get much more appreciation for what you are doing.

Top 10 Being a Faller Pros & Cons – Summary List

Being a Faller ProsBeing a Faller Cons
Fallers can work in natureFallers don’t make good money
Being a faller can be a passionBeing a faller can be risky
Fallers have weekends offSome fallers get bored in the long run
Fallers have pretty good work-life balanceBecoming a faller may trap you in this field
Job as a faller is rather relaxedRather low social standing of fallers
You don’t need to go to the gymHard to find a partner
You can see the results of your workPhysically demanding work
Fallers keep our system runningSome fallers have to quit at an older age
You don’t need to go to collegeTeleworking is not possible for fallers
You can avoid student loan debtLow level of job security

Should You Become A Faller?

As you can see, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages to being a faller.

Now that you got all the pros and cons, you will have to make your final decision whether you still want to become a faller or if you rather want to go in a different direction instead.

If you want to learn even more about a logger career, you should also have a look at the salary, career prospects, future outlook, educational requirements, working hours, work-life balance of fallers and much more.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a miner

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a farmer

Sources

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2018/may/oes454021.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumberjack

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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