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How to Become an Arborist and Grow Your Career

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Grace Struth
Beginner Oct 25, 2024 6 min read
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  3. How to Become an Arborist

If you enjoy climbing trees, working with your hands, and spending time outdoors, a career as an arborist might be right for you.

As a professional arborist, you’ll need to know tree biology and anatomy, as well as how to identify and care for trees, assess risks, treat diseased trees, and remove pests.

Want to join this promising industry? In this article, we’ll explain how to become a certified arborist and grow a profitable career.

Here’s how to become a certified arborist:

  1. Complete your education
  2. Earn your arborist’s license
  3. Get on-the-job training
  4. Take arborist safety courses
  5. Become ISA certified
  6. Join the tree care industry
  7. FAQs

What is an arborist?

Also known as tree surgeons, arborists are professionals in the field of arboriculture. Arborists care for trees—along with bushes, shrubs, and other large perennials—to keep them strong and healthy.

This is essential because trees provide clean oxygen and help fight climate change. Trees also help improve the beauty of an area so people can enjoy their surroundings.

These trained professionals can work in either the private or public sector. They can be independent contractors or employees at tree care companies, institutions, or parks, and urban forestry departments.

1. Complete your education

Depending on your state, some arborists won’t need higher education beyond a high school diploma or GED. However, many employers will only hire certified arborists with formal education. It’s also a requirement for arborist certification.

To learn both the theoretical and practical sides of the tree care industry, get a bachelor’s degree from a respected college or university in one of these fields:

  • Arboriculture (study of tree care)
  • Biology (study of living things, including plants and animals)
  • Botany (study of plant biology)
  • Environmental science (study of the natural world and how its systems interact)
  • Forestry (study of forest growth and management)
  • Horticulture (study of growing a wide variety of plants)
  • Landscape architecture (study of land design and management)

In these programs, you’ll learn about soil science, plant pathology, and forest ecology, which will help you in your career as a tree care professional.

2. Earn your arborist’s license

If you live in one of these states, you’re required to have a tree care or arborist license:

Each license comes with its own requirements, like previous experience, business insurance, passing a written exam, and paying a licensing fee.

On the other hand, if you’re wondering how to become an arborist in Florida, for example, that’s much easier. All you need is an occupational license—although ISA certification is still a good idea.

3. Get on-the-job training

The easiest way to start learning the arborist trade is to get your hands dirty. Apply to work at a local lawn care or landscaping company or job shadow an arborist at a greenhouse or plant nursery.

You can also complete an arborist internship or apprenticeship to get hands-on, practical work experience. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the trade and gain a great reference for future employment. 

Here are a few options to get you started:

In any of these roles, you’ll learn about identifying, pruning, and maintaining different types of trees. Other arborists will show you how to safely climb trees and use equipment for tree trimming.

You should also join community and online arborist groups, attend tree industry events, and get to know local arborists. These networking opportunities help you learn and grow as an arborist.

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4. Take safety courses

Working at heights can be dangerous, especially when using power tools and harmful chemicals. Take a safety training course and learn how to use protective gear, avoid hazards, and handle emergencies.

Learning basic tree climbing techniques can also keep you safe and prolong your career. The Climbing Arborist has free climbing tutorials and teaches knot tying, rigging, and rope splicing techniques.

You’ll also come into contact with natural threats like large birds, wasps’ nests, and poison ivy. It’s a good idea to know how to handle these encounters and avoid injury.

5. Become ISA certified

Industry accreditation isn’t a requirement for most arborist roles. However, some employers prefer to hire arborists who have passed the International Society of Arboriculture’s certification exam.

To pass this exam, you’ll need one of the following:

  • Three years (5,385 hours) of tree care experience
  • An associate’s degree with at least two years (3,590 hours) of experience and two courses directly related to arboriculture
  • A bachelor’s degree with at least one year (1,795 hours) of experience and four courses directly related to arboriculture

Earning your ISA certified arborist credential doesn’t just help you get a job. It can also help customers trust you and make you stand out from non-accredited arborists.

Other popular ISA certification options include:

  • Board Certified Master Arborist
  • Certified Arborist Utility Specialist
  • Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist
  • Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist
  • Certified Tree Worker Aerial Lift Specialist
  • Tree Risk Assessment Qualification

A Board Certified Master Arborist is the highest ISA credential. Qualifying for the exam requires formal education, in-depth knowledge and experience, and related credentials.

How long does it take to become a certified arborist?

You’ll need at least three years (or 5,385 hours) of on-the-job training, formal education, or a mix of both before you can take the ISA’s certified arborist exam.

Your work experience can cover a variety of tasks related to tree care, including responsibilities like planting, pruning, climbing, disease treatment, tree maintenance, and pest management.

Any formal education should be in the field of horticulture, plant science, forestry, or agriculture business technology. Multi-year degrees are available through various colleges, or you can take a shorter certification program.

6. Join the tree care industry

If you love working outdoors, are physically strong, and have the necessary experience, you might be ready to become a full-time arborist.

Write a resume that describes your education and work experience and send it to local tree care companies. Working for an established company will give you arboriculture experience and help you be successful in your industry.

Or, if you’d rather be your own boss, you can start a tree service business yourself.
With the right tree company name, an arborist business plan, a professional tree service website, and the right arborist apps, you’ll be building a tree empire in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arborists play an important role in caring for the world’s trees. They’re responsible for both improving the appearance of the plant and caring for overall tree health.

These are just some of the tasks that an arborist may need to complete:

Creating a landscaping plan with tree varieties and maintenance, soil, and space requirements
Planting new trees, shrubs, and woody plants
Transplanting young trees, including backfilling, staking, watering, and mulching
Testing, monitoring, and maintaining soil conditions
Inspecting trees and shrubs for damage, disease, and pests
Assessing tree size, age, and value
Repairing damaged trees and treating tree disease
Inspecting tree care equipment for functionality and safety
Tree pruning and trimming branches using chainsaws, hand saws, pruning shears, and loppers
Grinding stumps and removing debris after pruning and trimming
Providing tree identification and removing dead, damaged, hazardous, and unneeded branches, trees, and shrubs
Applying fertilizer and pesticide to trees
Recording and reporting on tree care activities
Supervising landscaping and groundskeeping teams
Monitoring and reporting on tree, grove, or forest health

Some arborists specialize in certain areas of arboriculture. For example, you could focus on keeping power lines clear of tree branches or work within a municipality to maintain trees in public parks.
As an arborist, you can have one of several job titles, depending on where and how you work:

Climbing Arborist: (or tree climber) specifically works in treetops to do pruning, tree removal, and other tree care and maintenance tasks. They can work for both commercial and residential customers.
Commercial Arborist: Commercial arborists usually work for private companies to plant, prune, and maintain trees, as well as diagnose and treat diseases.
Utility Arborist: Trees can cause big problems when they grow near power lines. A utility arborist safely uses equipment to maintain and remove these trees as needed. They often work with electrical companies, as well as other clients like homeowners and insurance companies.
Municipal Arborist: Municipal arborists oversee teams that maintain a town or city’s trees. Instead of cutting and pruning, this type of arborist plans and reports to ensure the community’s trees are healthy and well-managed.
You might need an arborist’s license if you live in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, or Rhode Island. All of these states require arborists to have a license.

Depending on the arborist job description, some employers may also require you to hold additional licenses. These may include:

Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) certification is required if you’ll be applying certain pesticides on the job. Contact the Pesticide Safety Education Program in your state for training materials and visit your local certifying agency to register for your exam.
A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is necessary if you’ll be driving a company vehicle to and from the worksite. Contact your state licensing bureau or local Department of Motor Vehicles to complete your CDL application and requirements.
You can become a certified arborist by passing the International Society of Arboriculture’s certification exam. Qualifying for the exam requires formal education, years of practical experience, or both.

You’ll also need an arborist’s license if you live in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, or Rhode Island.

You may need Restricted Use Pesticides certification if you’ll be applying pesticides, as well as a commercial driver’s license if you’ll be driving a company vehicle. This varies depending on the employer.
While formal education can be helpful as an arborist, you don’t need to go to college. Here’s how to become a certified arborist without a degree:

Get your high school diploma or GED
Get on-the-job training
Take safety courses
Apply for an arborist job with a nursery or landscaping company

Once you have three years of industry experience, you can earn your arborist’s license (if needed) and apply for ISA certification.
The mean arborist salary is $52,850/year (USD). However, the annual salary of a skilled, certified arborist can be as low as $34,450 or up to $75,870.

This amount can vary depending on factors like:

Employer (e.g., government, energy, home services)
Education and experience level
Special licensing or certification
The geographic area where you work
Local demand for tree care services

Arborists are part of the conservation scientists and foresters industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry is expected to increase by 5% by 2033, with around 1,900 new job openings during that time.
Arborists can work for many different types of employers, like golf courses, tree nurseries, landscaping companies, and parks and recreation departments for towns and cities. They also work with homeowners and property managers to maintain trees on private property.
There are a number of workplace hazards for arborists. They not only work at great heights, but also use power tools, operate heavy machinery, work near power lines, and cut heavy tree limbs that can cause damage.

While these risks can all be managed, it’s important for arborists to be properly trained. It’s the best way to ensure an arborist can continue working for a long time.
That depends on where the arborist is located. They don’t normally work during cold weather because of the ice, snow, and freezing temperatures.

Instead, arborists often work longer hours during the spring, summer, and fall to make up for the off-season. They may even start a snow removal business or Christmas light company for extra work during the winter to navigate seasonal demand.

That said, if the arborist works in an area with good weather year-round, there’s no reason why they can’t continue to work in the winter.

Originally published November 2021. Last updated on October 24, 2024.

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