Heavy lift rigger vs hand rigger

The differences between heavy lift riggers and hand riggers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a hand rigger has an average salary of $40,185, which is higher than the $37,204 average annual salary of a heavy lift rigger.

The top three skills for a heavy lift rigger include cranes, pallets and assembly line. The most important skills for a hand rigger are rig, slings, and .

Heavy lift rigger vs hand rigger overview

	Heavy Lift Rigger	Hand Rigger
Yearly salary	$37,204	$40,185
Hourly rate	$17.89	$19.32
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	5,076	4,474
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 72%	High School Diploma, 42%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Heavy lift rigger vs hand rigger salary

Heavy lift riggers and hand riggers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Heavy Lift Rigger	Hand Rigger
Average salary	$37,204	$40,185
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $61,000	Between $23,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Rich Products	-
Best paying industry	Transportation	-

Differences between heavy lift rigger and hand rigger education

There are a few differences between a heavy lift rigger and a hand rigger in terms of educational background:

	Heavy Lift Rigger	Hand Rigger
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 72%	High School Diploma, 42%
Most common major	Computer Science	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Heavy lift rigger vs hand rigger demographics

Here are the differences between heavy lift riggers' and hand riggers' demographics:

	Heavy Lift Rigger	Hand Rigger
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.3% Female, 6.7%	Male, 100.0% Female, 0.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 16.2% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 2.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 16.1% Unknown, 7.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 2.4% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between heavy lift rigger and hand rigger duties and responsibilities

Heavy lift rigger example responsibilities.

Inspect and maintain manual hoists.
Operate Toyota forklift, cherry pickers, Taylor forklifts, overhead cranes
Perform general repairs and maintenance on major and minor rig components.
Run fork lift an man lift an rig on items to be lift
Install grind rigging for yarding lines, attaching chokers to logs and then the lines.
Well verse in effectively communicating hoisting problems to concern personnel.

Hand rigger example responsibilities.

Transport and connect heavy equipment with slings from the oil rig and ships.
Operate crane and pipe handlers on offshore oil rig.
Direct co-workers engage in hoisting of machinery and equipment into ships.
Job are at BP chemical plant in Hugar SC.

Heavy lift rigger vs hand rigger skills

Common heavy lift rigger skills

Cranes, 39%
Pallets, 29%
Assembly Line, 16%
Rig, 4%
Critical Lifts, 3%
Pulleys, 2%

Common hand rigger skills

Rig, 71%
Slings, 29%

Heavy Lift Rigger vs. similar jobs

Heavy Lift Rigger related careers

Heavy Lift Rigger related jobs

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Rigger responsibilities

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Installation, Maintenance and Repair Industry
Heavy Lift Rigger
Heavy Lift Rigger vs Hand Rigger

Updated January 8, 2025

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