Fallers
SOC Code: 45-4021
Fallers carries a 27% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $53,900 and -7.3% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 5,600 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 27% AI exposure, Fallers sits 10 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 22% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
42/100
Fallers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage D $53,900
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -7.3%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B+ 27% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Fallers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry on a declining BLS line
Typical entry is HS / some college (333/832) while growth is Declining (111/832). This is the crowded high-risk corner of the map - automation and headcount pressure compound without a degree moat.
Where Fallers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Fallers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
27% Among the lowest lower than 78% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Fallers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Fallers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Fallers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 45-4021) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Fallers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Fallers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.
- 2. Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.
- 3. Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.
- 4. Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.
- 5. Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.
- 6. Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.
- 7. Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.
- 8. 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.
- 9. Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.
- 10. Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.
Key Skills Required
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Speaking
Knowledge Areas
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Economics and Accounting
- Law and Government
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Fallers?
Fallers has an AI exposure score of 27%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Fallers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Fallers is projected to decline by 7.3% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 5,600 workers.
What skills are needed for Fallers?
Key skills for Fallers include Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Fallers earn?
The median annual wage for Fallers is $53,900, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Fallers?
The typical entry-level education for Fallers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Fallers?
Fallers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Fallers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (27% here).
- Civil engineers · AI exposure 27%
- Clinical and counseling psychologists · AI exposure 27%
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 27%
- Concierges · AI exposure 27%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-7.3% here).
- Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping · growth -7.1%
- Drafters, all other · growth -6.9%
- Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks · growth -7.7%
- Correctional officers and jailers · growth -7.8%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 10 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Fallers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Fallers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).