Will AI replace Tree Trimmers and Pruners?
Estimated risk score: 8 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (0 to 27).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 26 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 37-3013.00 · Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 1 of its 26 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 24 of its 26 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.
- Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
- Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools.
- Cut away dead and excess branches from trees, or clear branches around power lines, using climbing equipment or buckets of extended truck booms, or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers.
What the job is
Using sophisticated climbing and rigging techniques, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to maintain right-of-way for roads, sidewalks, or utilities, or to improve appearance, health, and value of tree. Prune or treat trees or shrubs using handsaws, hand pruners, clippers, and power pruners. Works off the ground in the tree canopy and may use truck-mounted lifts.
Also called: Pruner, Tree Doctor, Tree Expert, Tree Pruner, Tree Worker, Vine Pruner, Grape Pruner, Tree Surgeon.
Related jobs, estimated
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate