Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RCE

Bridge and Lock Tenders

Operate and tend bridges, canal locks, and lighthouses to permit marine passage on inland waterways, near shores, and at danger points in waterway passages. May supervise such operations. Includes drawbridge operators, lock operators, and slip bridge operators.

Also called: Bridge Operator, Bridge Tender, Lock Tender.

O*NET 53-6011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $57,700; Middle half earn $38,640 to $69,620. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 65% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Turn valves to increase or decrease water levels in locks.
Check that bridges are clear of vehicles and pedestrians prior to opening.
Control machinery to open and close canal locks and dams, railroad or highway drawbridges, or horizontally or vertically adjustable bridges.
Direct movements of vessels in locks or bridge areas, using signals, telecommunication equipment, or loudspeakers.
Observe position and progress of vessels to ensure best use of lock spaces or bridge opening spaces.
Stop automobile and pedestrian traffic on bridges, and lower automobile gates prior to moving bridges.
Raise drawbridges and observe passage of water traffic or lower drawbridges and raise automobile gates.
Maintain and guard stations in bridges to check waterways for boat traffic.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Monitoring3.3 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Speaking3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.9 / 5
Writing2.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Public Safety and Security3.4 / 5
English Language3.3 / 5
Telecommunications3.0 / 5
Education and Training2.9 / 5
Transportation2.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic86
Investigative23
Artistic0
Social13
Enterprising26
Conventional56

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

bridge construction supervisor · DE Aufsichtskraft Brückenbau · FR superviseur de la construction de ponts/superviseuse de la construction de ponts
underwater construction supervisor · DE Bauleiter Unterwasserarbeiten/Bauleiterin Unterwasserarbeiten · FR superviseur en construction subaquatique/superviseuse en construction subaquatique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Construction and building trades supervisors (5330)53,100 employed
Rail construction and maintenance operatives (8153)7,600 employed
Groundworkers (9121)33,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.63. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-6011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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