Career
Pile driver operators
Drive piles that support buildings and bridges.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Move hand and foot levers of hoisting equipment to position piling leads, hoist piling into leads, and position hammers over pilings.
- Move levers and turn valves to activate power hammers, or to raise and lower drophammers that drive piles to required depths.
- Drive pilings to provide support for buildings or other structures, using heavy equipment with a pile driver head.
- Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment to ensure proper functioning.
- Clean, lubricate, and refill equipment.
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?
“Move hand and foot levers of hoisting equipment to position piling leads, hoist piling into leads, and position hammers over pilings.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Equipment Maintenance.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $73,300 a year and 200 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
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,850 · +4.6%
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators$46,420 · +1.5%
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$57,430 · +1.0%
- Hoist and Winch Operators$56,450 · +0.2%
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$53,340 · -0.9%
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.