Steeplejack
Also known as: suspended platform driver, rope access technician, heightworker, MWEP operator, rope access steeplejack
About this occupation
Steeplejacks are specialised heightworkers who safely scale the outside of buildings and structures to perform critical work.
Essential skills and knowledge
- work from suspended access cradle
- follow safety procedures when working at heights
- inspect construction supplies
- work in a construction team
- handle equipment while suspended
- build scaffolding
- follow health and safety procedures in construction
- work ergonomically
- use safety equipment in construction
- inspect climbing equipment
- construct working platform
- spot other climbers
Typical tasks and preparation
From the related US occupation profile Fallers (O*NET 45-4021.00). Linked by an official crosswalk: related, not identical; details vary by country.
- Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.
- Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
- Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.
- Preparation
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Interests
- Realistic, Conventional, Investigative
Top skills: Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management
US median pay: US$52,100 a year (2025), 3,130 employed. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Subjects this work relies on
How important each subject's knowledge is in the job itself, rated by people doing it (1 to 5).
- MetalworkO*NET: MechanicalImportant (3.3)
O*NET data describe work in the United States; requirements differ by country. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CareerProof Global has modified all or some of this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Preparation needed
Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
O*NET data describe work in the United States; requirements differ by country. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CareerProof Global has modified all or some of this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Related occupations
Occupations O*NET links to this one by similar work, skills and knowledge.
- Tree Trimmers and Pruners
- Logging Equipment Operators
- Forest and Conservation Workers
- Log Graders and Scalers
- Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
- Rock Splitters, Quarry
- Forest and Conservation Technicians
- Agricultural Equipment Operators
O*NET data describe work in the United States; requirements differ by country. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CareerProof Global has modified all or some of this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.