trimmer

tree climber

groundskeeper

driver (independent contractor)

utility worker

Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC

I started out as a groundsman when I was hired on the very bottom. Groundsman were required to drive a split dump truck with a chipper behind it, to chip the brush that was trimmed by a bucket operator or any type of brush left to be cleaned up. To move up into positions the company gave out books to study the position your in about operating equipment, safety procedures, company policies, and learn about the requirements for the next position up. I studied and passed the tests that were recommended to move up, my next step was bucket operator. Bucket operators were required to fly a trim lift, either a 55 foot or 70 foot boom and run a hydraulic powered pole saw. Bucket operators had to trim the right of ways around power lines for the power company's (contractors) specs and learn the safety procedures for the distance between operator and the conductors, also the safety procedures and hazards for taking trees down or off the power lines during emergency calls. My next step was becoming a climber which required me to manually climb trees that bucket trucks could not get to, danger trees were usually what a climbers purpose was for, which is a dead or any tree dangerous to power lines. Climbers had to learn the safety procedures for climbing and the climbing saws that were made for climbers, also all positions recommended crew members to learn about ropes and knots, climbers had to learn knots that are used while in trees to tie in or make their position in tree more comfortable. Foreman was my next and final position which I stayed at for a year and a half. The position held a lot of responsibility, I was required to learned about how all my equipment, crew members, work areas, safety procedure, requirements, work procedures, hazards, fueling times, inspections, and man hours should function in a productive,safe and professional manner. A Foreman needed to know the work procedures for each crew member and to make sure it was done in a safe and productive manner, which included if crew member did not understand the job at hand the Foreman would take the time to do the show, watch, and explain method, to make sure the crew member understood the task at hand safely and in a responsible manner. I was required to learn maps that were given to me by our contractors and find the quickest, safest, and most productive way for me and my crew members to complete the map given. A Foreman had to keep up with paper work for all equipment and crew members including time sheets for the crew and utility. A Foreman had to learn how to speak with pedestrians\home owners some were either unhappy or did not understand the line clearance specs that were going to be done, which required me to inform them about the trim specs and the cycle of years for the specs to hold, bringing them to an understanding point or to reason with them and have signed permission on a trim spec or tree take down. I have ran a crew with up to 14 men and 8 line clearance equipment, and was always on stand by for emergency calls that were to do with bad weather or any kind of dangerous problems that involved with power lines. I've traveled to many states for emergency calls with crew members, spent hours,days, and up to weeks working and supervising. My title as Foreman did not ever make me think I was a better person, never had any complaints form my crew when I was their leader I always tried my best to work and help out in every way I could, no man was treated different no matter what position. I'm young, honest, respective, and I try to reach the next level while understanding the requirements needed. I loved my job and being a leader, but a higher rank a General Foreman at the time did not like the idea, plus my location was Greenville, GA and I had a few family medical problems, that was the ending of my employment with Asplundh. I'm looking for a local job that needs an employee willing to work safe, productive, and with good attendance.

Working with the fantastic people who make up the Asplundh Corporation!  Everyone works hard without much hard complaining.  The most enjoyable part of working here is the fun and camaraderie  annually at the company picnic held on  the company grounds.  It's a time where everyone from the mail room clerks, and security, to Department Heads can lay down the computer trail of data entry reports and zoom team meetings  to really get to chit chat with your co -workers and management, about something other than work, and re-introduce yourself in person to those you don't get a chance to see from other departments, but only know them by voice. Workplace culture is very relaxed, which helps to make the day go by quicker, however due to high volume of nearly everything from TPA(Third party administrators)phone contacts to regional assisting with managers or crew personnel, for various reasons can have the day  seem mentally exhausting.   Asplundh is a family organized corporate giant in the utility Lines and tree industry.  As with any other family aligned organization situations and circumstance will take place  for the good of the company and it's shareholders, and while you may feel like a pion at times or overlooked for all you do, don't allow yourself to get stuck in a rut, or too comfortable to venture into other areas.  The company must grow and change with the times, but so must you. Work titles and responsibilities change, so must you.  My work experience was good for the most part, helped me raise my family, and I was able to start my educational journey onward through them towards a better career in the long run.

Asplundh is an excellent place to work. I was a high school drop out and got my GED, I thought I would never go anywhere but the JATC got me in line for an excellent job with excellent benefits to take care of myself and my family.

As a groundperson you start at the bottom chipping brush and doing cleanup, a trimmer is the one that trims the trees around the power lines, and the Foreman is responsible for the jobsite and safety of everyone on the crew. Each person is responsible for the person below him and is expected to do their job and also participate in the person below them job to form a team structure. On my crew everyone including the Foreman is expected to apply themselves in their job all the way down to the groundperson so that none is standing around watching someone else do all the work.

All opinions are valued at Asplundh and considered but at the end of the day the Foreman is responsible for the crew so their decision is final and non negotiable.

All in all Asplundh is an excellent place with excellent benefits that a person can retire from. I wouldn't change my job for the world.

They provide decent training and advancement opportunities, up to an extent. Once you get to a certain level, however, it becomes very difficult to advance any further within the company, and the work-place politics amongst competitors for a given position can become quite cut-throat. The culture amongst co-workers is among the best I've ever experienced, you really become close to the people you work with, as you are relying on each other to work safely so you can go home in one piece every day. The relationship between the boss and the crews is luck of the draw, sometimes great, sometimes terrible, and can be everywhere in between. The relationship between upper management is pretty bad. Often times the impression I got was that they pay as much lip service as they possibly can to safety, but when it comes down to it, they prioritize production over everything else. When it comes to incentivizing employees, they rely on old fashioned coercive measures in order to get their agenda across, which sometimes causes disgruntled employees and therefore a poisoned work environment. Worst of all, the company always wants more from their employees, making it feel like you're never good enough, never doing a satisfactory job. This management strategy annihilates moral ruthlessly.

This is not the job for someone with a family that you want to be at home with! A lot of long hours and out of town a lot. I'm a Class A CDL holder and I walked in the door making a $1 less than guys that started without a CDL. Some of the bosses that I worked with were arrogant and thought that they could talk to people however they wanted because they were the boss. You have to give people respect in order to get respect. I gave 110% from the time that I walked in the door and after going to PA after Storm Sandy and being talked to like a dog and cursed at by the supervisor over that job I stood up for myself and informed him that he wasn't going to talk to me like that. Later a "Big Boss" asked me about what happened and he told me that the supervisor was in the wrong and that he would handle it. I was later sent to WV. The next day was sent back to the home yard in Olive Branch MS to return a truck they said they needed or so I was told. The next morning I was called into the office by the supervisor that's filling in while the normal supervisor is on vacation until the first part of 2013 after being there and working almost three hours for him to ask me what happened in PA and I explained and he told me that he was instructed to "separate me from Asplundh". I explained that I didn't feel it was right for supervisors to be able to talk to people like they were dogs, but for someone to stand up for themselves they get fired.

I enjoyed the work at first, and learned a lot about the field. The work and training were relatively simple, but understandably difficult to start with. Over time, I’ve learned more about the policies and procedures, adding complexity to the job. Numerous incidents were reported within the first few weeks of working here, and even though many of us were entirely uninvolved with the incidents, all of us were affected beyond a safety meeting.
Though all employees are always on call for emergency storm work (unless a valid, verified reason is given to not be called in), I have yet to be called in. If you do not show up for the storm work without a reason, you are terminated without warning. Emergency storm work is 16 hours daily until all necessary repairs and restorations are completed. It is apparently not uncommon to be called out of town for storm work.
All necessary personal protective equipment is provided upon being hired, but throughout my employment, has seemed to be very poorly enforced.
Often times, I’ve heard multiple, long-time employees telling each other about times they’ve done something on the job that would be grounds for immediate termination, showing that their “6 Life Saving Rules” seem to not be very well enforced on seniority of employees.

This company is only a great place to work if you’re single and don’t have any kids. Be prepared to be forced to perform storm work, which can either be as easy as removing a small branch off of a service drop or as hard as removing a large broken lead that fell on top of a power line. You will be required to travel out of state and out of town to help other regions with storm work, and the only benefit is the pay, although you will work 16 hour shifts and quite possibly graveyard shifts, as well. 
You can be away from home for as short as a week, but for as long as a month to a couple of months.

If you’re wanting to work for Asplundh to learn more about arboriculture, don’t bother applying because their main focus is on production and line clearance, not the health of trees or proper collar cuts. This company is all about clearance and not appearance. You only learn about company policies and procedures, not so much about trees themselves. 

You get underpaid for what you deal with on a daily basis. From stressed out general foremans to drama and unpredictability of the job, you deal with things that make you ask yourself what you got yourself into. Believe me when I say that this job is not worth the stress. 

If you’re interested in working for a line clearance tree trimming company, I’d recommend applying at Wright Tree Service. It’s employee owned, plus the benefits and the pay are better. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great Foreman's who are very well educated in their profession. The work was very consisted the many years I was there. The company also has many  other opportunities in different division within the company world wide. I highly recommend Asplundh Tree Expert to anyone 21 years of age and up who love working outside. Great company with hard working men and women.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As a ex-foreman,the most stress part for my self was getting guys to understand the importance of acknowledging the hazard of their work site and maintaining the equipment.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
In region 37, in Transmission. The work environment was the best. Respect the experience that was before, as questions if your not sure of any thing, and learn to be very detail oriented and respect other life as well as your own and you be in the best environment work in. The culture?I love it! A different breed of hard working men and women who respect skills and safety.These people become your best friends. Great culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Once the G.M. informe the Foreman's of their routes and duties..... then Foreman's in form their crews.Make sure your truck is stock,make sure you got enough Round Up for weeds and stump,and a cooler full of water for your crew....now your day begin.

a typical day varies depending on task but over all you clear or mitigate  vegetation from interfering with electrical power lines. this place would be such an amazing place to build a career if they would require all of there job planners and general foreman to be certified arborist. The only reason i left the company was do to in my region the lead foreman couldn't work well with other crews also lacked in practicing training new employees with the the basic skills to practice to promote safety. Upper management as far as regional managers in my region and wonder and full of experience and knowledge to perform tasks. The culture in the company is where the job lack heavy in my region. The lack of knowledge and organization starting from the general foreman all the way to the foreman of daily crews is what makes this job very difficult. The daily highly physical work is very well rewarding if the work was planned correctly and tasks wouldn't have to be redone or constantly questioned on what work to preform. The most enjoyable part of the job is the visual view of the hard days work after completing a task knowing your preventing power outages.

You will drive a lot. Utilizing a company vehicle ( if your lucky).  Once arriving to the job site, you will perform daily stretches and equipment functions and checks ( if your leadership actually cares). Next will be a job briefing describing  the task to be performed and who will perform it. Immediately after cones and signs will be placed to make the public aware of the work area. 
   Upon completing this work can actually begin. Which may include: cutting trees, bushes and brush with a power saw or manual saw( if you are lucky to have properly functioning equipment). You may also fell trees, climb trees, trim and take down trees with bucket trucks or equivalent machinery. 
    I learned more  practical applications for trimming aloft while climbing. 
  Management varies crew to crew( some better, some worse). The biggest flaw is  the lack of effective communication. 
   The culture is similar to arboriculture on the surface, but has an industrial corporate skeleton beneath it all. As with every job( I have found) it’s the people on your left and right that make it worth it. The people you work with day in and out. 
   The hardest part is to be determined. 
   The most enjoyable part is the people you build good relation with and the wisdom obtained of and for the care for trees.  



Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Trimmer 256 salaries reported	$27.56 per hour
Tree climber 1 salary reported	$24.17 per hour
Groundskeeper 121 salaries reported	$21.20 per hour
Driver (independent contractor) 340 salaries reported	$24.62 per hour
Utility worker 9 salaries reported	$26.50 per hour

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