Also called: Rigging Slinger, Logging Rigger
Wraps steel cables around fallen logs on steep slopes so they can be hauled up to the landing.
Choker setters scramble across steep, brushy hillsides in the Pacific Northwest, hooking cable "chokers" around logs and signaling the yarder operator. It is one of the most physically demanding and dangerous outdoor jobs.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No degree; learned on the crew with safety training.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Shrinking (about -2% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 45-4029: Decline (-1% or lower).
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Remote-release chokers and steep-slope machines are spreading; hand rigging on slopes still employs crews.
Age 18+. One way to start: Ask cable logging companies in the Northwest about choker setter openings; training is on the crew
Classes: PE or weight training, Small engines.
Official data: O*NET occupation 45-4029.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.