How To Become A Port Crane Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a port crane operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a port crane operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.3 an hour? That's $44,298 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePort Crane OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,298

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.52%

Asian 0.70%

Black or African American 10.47%

Hispanic or Latino 17.68%

Unknown 3.62%

White 66.01%

Gender

female 25.00%

male 75.00%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a port crane operator

Explore port crane operator education requirements

Most common port crane operator degrees

High School Diploma

40.0 %

Bachelor's

23.3 %

Diploma

16.7 %

Start to develop specific port crane operator skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	100.00%

Complete relevant port crane operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New port crane operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a port crane operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real port crane operator resumes.

Research port crane operator duties and responsibilities

Coordinate all safety efforts with management to meet or exceed requirements of client specifications and OSHA regulations.
Drive truck to location and offload buildings to designate site using an ABC crane.

Prepare your port crane operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your port crane operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a port crane operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable port crane operator resume templates

Build a professional port crane operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your port crane operator resume.

Apply for port crane operator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a port crane operator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do port crane operators rate their job?

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Port crane operator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

learn all about scrap metal side of it how to grade Steel from cast iron and #1 and #2 steel be good at what you do as a scrap handler operator be safe doing it right and getting job doing.

Cons

you have to be on look out for people and your work are safe come at a price