Career
Hoist and winch operators
Run hoists and winches.
$56,450
Median pay
+0.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
300
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials.
- Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths.
- Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums.
- Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches.
- Repair, maintain, and adjust equipment, using hand tools.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Time Management.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $56,450 a year and 300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment OperationCIP 49.0202
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Riggers$62,640 · +3.9%
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,420 · +1.5%
- Crane and Tower Operators$68,080 · +3.8%
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,850 · +4.6%
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$57,430 · +1.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.