Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RC
Crane and Tower Operators
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Also called: Crane Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator, Mobile Crane Operator, Overhead Crane Operator, Equipment Operator, Machine Operator, Port Crane Operator, Scrap Crane Operator.
O*NET 53-7021.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $68,080
- Middle half earn $52,600 to $83,200. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate
- 61% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium 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.
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads.
- Inspect crane site conditions to determine ground stability.
- Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage.
- Direct helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes.
- Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload.
- Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.
- Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.
- Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
- Active Listening3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Active Learning2.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical3.5 / 5
- Mathematics3.0 / 5
- Transportation2.9 / 5
- English Language2.9 / 5
- Public Safety and Security2.8 / 5
- Building and Construction2.7 / 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.
- Realistic100
- Investigative20
- Artistic0
- Social3
- Enterprising5
- Conventional49
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)
- rigger · DE Anschläger/Anschlägerin · FR monteur/monteuse
- container crane operator · DE Verladebrückenführer/Verladebrückenführerin · FR conducteur de portique/conductrice de portique
- mobile crane operator · DE Autokranführer/Autokranführerin · FR conducteur de grue mobile/conductrice de grue mobile
- production plant crane operator · DE Baukranführer/Baukranführerin · FR pontier/pontière
- tower crane operator · DE Turmdrehkranführer/Turmdrehkranführerin · FR conducteur de grue à tour/conductrice de grue à tour
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Crane drivers (8221)11,500 employed
- Scaffolders, stagers and riggers (8151)23,600 employed
- Other drivers and transport operatives n.e.c. (8239)22,600 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.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “クレーン・ウインチ運転従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥339,100
- Middle half earn ¥295,400 to ¥404,500 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 16,200
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. 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.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €39,630 |
| Netherlands | €37,567 |
| Austria | €37,304 |
| Sweden | €36,005 |
| Germany | €34,433 |
| Ireland | €32,617 |
| France | €28,550 |
| Italy | €28,330 |
| Spain | €24,409 |
| Portugal | €11,309 |
| Poland | €10,259 |
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 lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.03. 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 (53-7021).
Related careers
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.
Take the career interests test