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

What is a winch operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a winch operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.85 an hour? That's $37,131 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreWinch OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,131

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.4

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.79%

Asian 0.79%

Black or African American 6.72%

Hispanic or Latino 13.83%

Unknown 4.35%

White 73.52%

Gender

female 3.13%

male 96.88%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a winch operator

Explore winch operator education requirements

Most common winch operator degrees

High School Diploma

69.2 %

Associate

7.7 %

Diploma

7.7 %

Start to develop specific winch operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Rig	63.10%
Well Control	24.61%
Winch Truck	12.29%

Complete relevant winch operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New winch 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 winch operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real winch operator resumes.

Research winch operator duties and responsibilities

Operate winch truck on rig moves hauling drilling rigs from location to location.
Conduct daily field frac tank inspections within yard and at well sites.
Operate, tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operate cable equipment.
Operate heavy machinery such as bobcat equipment and also operate and pave asphalt perform demolition work.

Prepare your winch operator resume

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

Build a professional winch 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 winch operator resume.