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Many people say there aren’t enough young workers who want to join the tree-care industry. Fact: Since 2015, the State of California has official job classifications for tree workers, and starting pay is over $22 an hour with health insurance, vacation, and a pension after five years. With experience and the right skills, tree workers can earn over $30 an hour, well into the mid-$40s, and some highly skilled workers even make six figures (Source: California DIR Wage Orders and industry wage surveys).

So the real problem isn’t finding people. The real problem is keeping them long enough to grow.

The Real Challenge: Staying, Not Starting

Many young people say they’re interested in tree work. But interest fades when the job gets hard. This work requires strength, awareness, teamwork, and a serious commitment to safety. Some new workers struggle with:

• Wanting quick rewards

• Expecting the job to be simple

• Moving slowly or lacking urgency

• Quitting when the work gets tough because they have a fallback at home

Opinion: These habits make it difficult for them to develop into dependable tree-care professionals.

The Union Helps With Benefits, Not Training

The Union protects wages and benefits, but it does not yet have a strong program to train the next generation. Tree work is highly specialized, and training takes real field experience. To train new workers correctly, they would need experts who’ve spent years in the canopy.

That leaves company owners to do the hard work: hiring, training, and taking the risks that come with developing new talent in such a niche industry.

North Star Only Hires the Right People

Tree work is not one-size-fits-all. Not everyone is ready for this type of career, especially if they picked up unsafe habits at other companies.

At North Star Land Care, we look for people who are:

• Humble

• Eager to learn

• Serious about safety

• Ready to grow their skills

We don’t hire everyone. We hire the right people—and we train them the right way.

Training vs. Automation

If fewer strong workers enter the field, technology will fill the gap. AI, robotics, and automated machines are already being tested in the industry. And if this becomes the norm, many young workers may end up depending on government programs instead of building a career that pays $22 to mid-$40s per hour, with the potential for six-figure earnings for top professionals.

Things are changing fast. You can feel it.

At North Star Land Care, we choose to invest in people.
We train, mentor, and prepare the next generation of tree-care professionals.