# How Much Do Crane Operators Make? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092 "2004-11-16T18:30:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZomZom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zomzom/32/5620_2.png) [@ZomZom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZomZom)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/1 "2004-11-16T18:30:51Z")
I work in downtown DC near the old Woodies department store building and there are two large cranes that I was watching just now. They are close enough that I think their booms could collide if they swung together at the wrong time. This got me thinking about the difficulty of operating these giants. Just how much are these guys paid? And do they have to climb the entire way up to the cab or is there an elevator? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/2 "2004-11-16T18:45:44Z")
I don’t know the exact answer, especially for the US, but i remember when i was living in Vancouver about ten years ago, and i knew a guy who did construction. He said that the crane operators were the highest-paid guys on site, and that their official income was A Fucking Lot Of Money. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/3 "2004-11-16T19:02:33Z")
I have a friend who works at a defense plant as a crane operator and he makes nearly $100 an hour. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/4 "2004-11-16T19:06:29Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > …their official income was **A Fucking Lot Of Money**. Band Name! 😛 This is a cool question. I hope we get answers, and also on how one becomes a crane operator… ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/5 "2004-11-16T19:48:19Z")
I think you get your start with those machines you feed with quarters and try to pick up the stuffed toys! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/6 "2004-11-16T20:34:56Z")
The “American Salary and Wages Survey” I have access to gives a much lower figure for “Crane and Tower Operator” Usually around $15-20/hour. I would assume that a guy making $100/hour must have some special skills. Or perhaps the job description encompasses several different aspects of the job. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/7 "2004-11-16T20:54:30Z")
> [@trupa](#): > > Band Name! 😛 > This is a cool question. I hope we get answers, and also on how one becomes a crane operator… First learn how to operate construction machinery. Second get a union job as a “rigger and operator.” Third bid for the lush crane operators job against all other contencers. Fourth be very lucky. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/8 "2004-11-16T22:40:39Z")
Nationally, the median wage for crane and tower operators is $3,030 per month ($17.47 per hour). Half of all crane and tower operators earn between $2,340 and $3,830 per month ($13.50 and $22.07 per hour). Wages vary based on the operator’s experience. Crane and tower operators who belong to a union generally receive higher wages. Also, pay is usually higher in large urban areas. Seasonal work may reduce overall earnings. [http://www.iseek.org/sv/13000.jsp?id=100054](http://www.iseek.org/sv/13000.jsp?id=100054) ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/9 "2004-11-16T22:41:49Z")
Whoops, and this too: [http://www.iseek.org/sv/46001.jsp?id=537021](http://www.iseek.org/sv/46001.jsp?id=537021) ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/10 "2004-11-16T23:02:08Z")
Me and my multiple posts. :smack: Here’s and interesting site on tower cranes. You can see they have an elevator to get to the top. [http://www.towercrane.com/tower\_cranes\_Detail\_Select.htm](http://www.towercrane.com/tower_cranes_Detail_Select.htm) [http://www.towercrane.com/K-10000\_tower\_crane\_06\_00.htm](http://www.towercrane.com/K-10000_tower_crane_06_00.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/11 "2004-11-16T23:09:16Z")
On the other side of all that money is [this wonderful site](http://www.craneaccidents.com/), which illuminates the many dangers of this job. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/12 "2004-11-16T23:15:53Z")
I just noticed while looking something else up that Connecticut requires [a special license](http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/pub/Chap539.htm) for crane operators. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/13 "2004-11-16T23:22:13Z")
I ran a crane for about 6 months in 1981. It was a 35 ton pedestal crane on an offshore rig (near the Forties-C field in North Sea). IIRC I was paid about 14-15 per hour (usd). Doesn’t sound like much, but with 12-hour workdays, 7-days/week (with OT) it added up to quite a good wage. Didn’t get any training, the former crane driver for that shift was fired. I was standing nearby and got a battlefield promotion. It was actually pretty easy to learn. The only difficulty was compensating for the waves (and blind lifts really sucked; I never got used to them). Sorry if this info is kinda dated. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/14 "2004-11-17T00:41:39Z")
First hand info. My brother works a union job as a HEO (Heavy Equipment Operator) in New York. The chief perk of this job is that when he’s on site for eight hours, if the…let’s say backhoe…isn’t needed that day, he sleeps in the cab for eight hours. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![craneguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@craneguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/craneguy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/16 "2014-01-31T22:19:06Z")
I am a journeyman crane operator from canada and the wage of crane operators depends if you are working union vs nonunion. Union operators make close to twice what nonunion operators make. Also there is different classes of crane. Tower crane , hydraulic crane, conventional crane. The salary are based on tonnage of the crane. I operate a 300 ton Manitowoc crawler conventional crane in fort Murray Alberta and have a salary of $48/hour with overtime and double time I usually take home $10,000 a month. I doubt the guy who says he’s making $100 a hour never heard that. I started like everybody else, right at the bottom. If you want to become a operator go to a crane company and apply as a rigger that is the best training you can get to start off. Anybody can pull levers but you gotta know what’s going on at the business end of the hook. Once you have spent a few years rigging register as a apprentice and join the IUOE and It will take 3 years to get you red seal ticket but its only 2 months of schooling per year. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/17 "2014-01-31T23:51:33Z")
There was a fly-on-the-wall documentary here a while ago. TBH, the operators were reasonably well paid, but it wasn’t that great considering that they worked in all weathers and silly hours. You need certificates here too and the pay is based on tonnage. As an aside, there was a report this week that Pimlico Plumbers in London, were looking for French speaking (we have a lot of rich French refugees here) plumbers. Apparently they could earn upwards of £100,000 a year. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/18 "2014-02-01T04:18:20Z")
My first day in the cab of a hydraulic crane long before certification was required i was working out over the edge of a flooded mine pit. The lead Mechanic/rigger informed me that if he gets wet, so do I. I passed the Apple Knocker test but worked as a mechanic until i bought my own crane and then getting certified was a cake walk. I was working non union and a IUOE rep visited the site i was working. I met with him and bought myself and my Son-in-law into the union and then simply challenged the test. After passing the practical skills test administered by the Union i payed the next fee and took the written test. Here in MN there is/was no grandfathering certification and when i took the written test there were many many great operators that basically didn’t have the reading skills to pass the written test. A tower crane operator is a very special breed. Many have to climb the tower much like a radio tower jack and they are alone for long hours and they carry their 5 gal. pail up and down with them each shit, i mean shift. Crane operating is a stressful job. A wrong move and someone might not go home. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/19 "2014-02-01T04:27:28Z")
> [@craneguy](#): > > I am a journeyman crane operator from canada and the wage of crane operators depends if you are working union vs nonunion. Union operators make close to twice what nonunion operators make. Also there is different classes of crane. Tower crane , hydraulic crane, conventional crane. The salary are based on tonnage of the crane. I operate a 300 ton Manitowoc crawler conventional crane in fort Murray Alberta and have a salary of $48/hour with overtime and double time I usually take home $10,000 a month. \ My husband worked for many years in construction, and that was his experience with the crane operators, too - it’s a very specialized field, and they are very well paid. He told me about a crane operator on one of his sites who had a panic attack out on the jib, and had to be brought down using the air ambulance. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/20 "2014-02-01T05:19:18Z")
> [@Gbro](#): > > A tower crane operator is a very special breed. Many have to climb the tower much like a radio tower jack and they are alone for long hours and they carry their 5 gal. pail up and down with them each shit, i mean shift. > Crane operating is a stressful job. A wrong move and someone might not go home. Does the pay start when you start climbing or only when you get to the cab? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092/21 "2014-02-01T05:25:26Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Does the pay start when you start climbing … Remotely operated cranes are reasonably common - no climbing required, and you typically have a better view of the things you need to see. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-crane-operators-make/275092.md?page=2)