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.