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

What is a tower 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 tower crane operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.44 an hour? That's $44,595 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTower Crane OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,595

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.49%

Asian 0.68%

Black or African American 9.06%

Hispanic or Latino 19.83%

Unknown 3.60%

White 65.34%

Gender

female 0.68%

male 99.32%

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 tower crane operator

Explore tower crane operator education requirements

Most common tower crane operator degrees

High School Diploma

46.5 %

Bachelor's

18.6 %

Associate

14.0 %

Start to develop specific tower crane operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Cranes	54.96%
Hoisting	24.69%
Hand Signals	7.57%
Pulleys	3.97%
Construction Materials	3.74%

Complete relevant tower crane operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tower 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 tower crane operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tower crane operator resumes.

Research tower crane operator duties and responsibilities

Train and supervise other employees to achieve significant improvements in their crane operating productivity.
Inspect mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, grappling devices, and lifting accessories in order to prevent malfunctions and damage.
Coordinate all safety efforts with management to meet or exceed requirements of client specifications and OSHA regulations.
Set aluminum panels to pour concrete foundation.

Prepare your tower crane operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tower 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 tower 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 tower crane operator resume templates

Build a professional tower 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 tower crane operator resume.

Apply for tower crane operator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a tower 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 tower crane operators rate their job?

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Tower crane operator reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2020

Pros

With concentration, using the right lifting material, watching for safe environment while lifting and offloading, having the LMI working etc, you'll have a less accident work delivery.

Cons

Other works going on around lifting and offloading point, etc.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019