arborist

grounds technician

supervisor

line supervisor

equipment operator

Lucas Tree Expert Co, Inc

The guys on crew are very down to earth and often willing to help each other out. 
The job is typically straightforward. 

I learned quite a bit about forestry from this job and received both my Arborist license and my Class B CDL.
I would recommend anyone taking the Class B test within this company to talk with management about being trained on a manual transmission truck so the license will be unrestricted.
Most guys operate a bucket truck with a chip box, typically towing an industrial wood chipper.  
The trucks are very heavy, are not four wheel drive, and do not have a winch. You have to be careful you don't get stuck as a tow will take a while and will be costly.

On an average day; 
A safety inspection is conducted on the equipment before leaving the yard and logged on work phone. 
Work zones are established and flagged appropriately to DOT specs. 
A pre-work safety briefing is given and recorded on work phones. 
Using hand saws, chainsaws, and hydraulic power saws Arborists/Foremen cut vegetation back to utility specs and remove hazards. 
Clean up worksites by chipping brush, stacking larger pieces of wood, raking sticks/leaves if necessary, then move on. 
At the end of the day a post trip inspection is done on all equipment and logged on the phones. Work conducted is recorded on the work phone and submitted. 
Its fairly easy once you get into it. 
Unfortunately management tends to be disorganized and fault rolls downhill. 
Crews could be sent down main roads in the summer/fall then told to do work on narrow/snowy/icy/muddy camp lines in winter/spring.
Raises are based on training and not just how long you have been employed. You have to be approved to receive training and then signed off by either a supervisor or safety. If you dont get signed off, you generally don't get a raise. 
Examples would be 'Climber', 'rigging specialist', 'Pesticide/Herbicide applicator', 'Off-road Bucket/skidder operator '.
If you are hired on as a laborer or foreman rather than a specialist like a climber, and those are things you WANT to do, but the supervisor decides otherwise, you are out of luck. The supervisors I had said they need more guys doing roadside trim from bucket trucks and they cant spare the time for training. In such a case you could go years without getting the training (and subsequent raise).
I'm told they are getting better since I left, but its something to be aware of. 
ASK about it at your interview if you think a specialty is something you would be interested in.

Also be aware that storms mean you could be spending DAYS away from home working very long hours in poor conditions (Snow, Rain, wind, etc). 
The pay from these events tends to be good, and the crews you end up working with are a lot of awesome guys, but if time away from home is a concern for you, be aware it happens.
Being an Arborist is also one of the most Dangerous jobs you can have. Working at height in all weather conditions while operating power tools in close proximity to power lines is something to take seriously.
Safety tries very hard to keep the crews focused on safe work, but management also has a focus on production. It only takes a moments lack of focus, a bad piece of equipment, or an unexpected event (like a snagged branch, tangled rope, sudden wind gust) to lead to a potentially fatal event.
You really need to be aware of not only yourself but also what is going on around you.

Groundman, South Carolina district. 

The basics:

Typical day was from 6:30am-4pm (we stopped really working around 2:30 though)

$12/hr for 45/hr work week with 30 min lunch - all groundsmen are paid that, regardless of experience. 

If you're on a "production team", you as a groundman will throw brush into the wood chipper basically all day. If you are on a "T&M team", you will probably do a lot of nothing.

Pros:

-You get to work outside and enjoy the beautiful day. 

-Weekends are optional. 

-You have overtime essentially every week.

-Co workers are pretty relaxed

-Good job for someone fresh out of prison, colorful backgrounds, need a job to keep the lights on. 

-Not a difficult job to understand, just physically strenuous.

-You can make a lot of money during storm watch. 

-Lack of workers in the SC area, so if you have a hard time behaving in or outside work, they will give you multiple chances before firing you because no one wants to do this job for the pay they give, so they kind of work with what they got because they need the man labor.

-You can get your CDL paid for by them, and then leave the company when the time is right to make more money doing something way less physically demanding.   


Cons:
- You work outside and are exposed to the burning sun, mosquitos, chiggers, spiders and fire ants will bite you daily and you will come home with new bites on your body almost always. Bug spray is provided, but then the sun rays make your skin burn worse while you wear it. 

-The trees often whip you when you throw them into the chipper, so prepare to bleed. 

- You will sweat a lot and almost all the trucks have no AC in them. A few do, but a majority of them just have heat as an option. You can roll the windows down, but when you are driving, there is zero air flow that hits you, so it doesn't matter that you have windows down. 

-If you're not a smoker, be prepared to inhale a lot of smoke because many workers smoke inside the truck (even though it's not allowed)

-You can make $14/hr if you went to a smaller tree company as a groundsman doing way less work.

- If you're into drugs, they fire for failing a urine test. 

- Storm watch is almost mandatory.

- Completely deceived during the interview.
- Benefits were never explained, not even after hire.
- No vacation days, at all, until you've been an employee for a year.
- Training for your job position doesn't happen unless you continually ask for it, and even then it is ignored (production, production, production).
- You might get to have a lunch 50% of the time, but most of the time you're encouraged to just push through it. Pretty sure that's against the law.
- There is a bonus incentive program that exceeds possibility unless you skip lunch every day and have a small crew (the more people on the crew, the higher number you have to achieve).
- You do not have breaks unless you can convince your foreman to give everyone a few minutes to breath.
- If you want to stay hydrated, you better bring a bottle of water in your back pocket or have a camelback, because nothing is provided.

Moral of the story: do your job, push hard for the company, expect to work in the absolute worst conditions (rain, snow, swamps/marshes, steep hills/boulders, black flies, ticks, mosquitos, etc.) and nothing stops work... sometimes not even lunch.

While they do have some room for advancement via in-house training such as rigging, climbing, and training specializations, moving up beyond that is very limited. Lots of politics, much more of a popularity contest than it should be. Some management is decent, others are either too busy trying to be everyone's friend or blowing a gasket before they understand the situation. They also hire / promote people who aren't qualified, then "make it work" after the fact.

What is the best part of working at the company?
End of week . They are dishonest about what they tell you. They do not care about the people. They are about the dollar and they do not listen to your opinions.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They push safety but want you to rush your work. They do not care about the employees family life, either you cattor to the company or leave,I left and much happier.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Bunch of good people to work with, they are just stuck in a poor management run company.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Travel to your job and put a full days work and travel home.

This is a great company and only going to get better. This company constantly seeks growth and uncomfortable moments which are steps the company takes to advance in the industry that takes courage and faith. This company strives to be a leader in the industry, be responsible in the community and help employees reach their personal goals and they have focused on raising the threshold of what it means to accomplish those goals. There is tons of room for growth and to build a platform of your own and have a sense of purpose and input. This company constantly reflects on itself for improvement and continually strives to raise the bar. 

I enjoyed learning all that I did, and making friends with some of the people that I worked with. However, the company is all about "production". They have a high turnover rate, hence, why you're always seeing job postings. I worked for this company for almost two years and they terminated me without due cause. Requires lots of travelling but if you are keen to that then you will enjoy working here. Storm work conditions are extremely dangerous. Pay can be good depending on your work ethic. POOR management on all levels and favoritism. Lucas is a fair company overall to work with. It's not a company I'd recommend to anyone looking for a lifelong job. You can be terminated at any time for any reason.

The job is relatively easy. Learn how to use a chainsaw, drag things that fall, and throw them into the chipper (or dice them where they are).

Pros: 
-Ok entry level pay and will train!
-Opportunities right off the bat to increase your pay through certifications and further training.
-Your foremen will know your pain and will help you through it (if they like you.)

Cons:
-You will kill your car if you work for transmission. I had to drive over an hour for many weeks. You will be the luckiest person alive if your commute is less than 30 minutes. 
-You will likely destroy your body working through horrid conditions.
- Really bad communication between foremen and supervisors. 


Typical day varies a lot from time to time and place to place. The company is eager send workers for testing and certifications to expand their employees skill sets. my 1st line supervisors were all pretty good guys. most of the people working there enjoy tree work and are glad to show you new stuff as long as youre not negligent or an idiot. the hardest part of the job is dealing with extreme weather, hot and humid summers, and bitter cold and snowy winters outside year round. that and living on the road for long periods. the most enjoyable part of the job are getting to be out in nature instead of an office while the weather is nice.

Want you  to work outside in all wether conditions up to 122 hrs a week on storm. Cutting trees around high voltage power lines and expect you to be great full for paying you less money than the flaggers they source and less money than half of the employees at the local McDonald’s. They have an employee retention problem due to this and the high school like environment. They have a high turnover rate because if you don’t kiss your supervisors behind they will standstill you and keep you at 18 dollars hr while guys they hired after you progress to raises.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Arborist 218 salaries reported	$21.01 per hour
Grounds technician 70 salaries reported	$19.85 per hour
Supervisor 10 salaries reported	$73,200 per year
Line supervisor 6 salaries reported	$72,500 per year
Equipment operator 15 salaries reported	$23.93 per hour

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