Hoist and Winch Operators

Overview

Hoist and Winch Operators has a national median salary of $56,450 per year, with +0.2% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.

Work Values

• Support
• Independence
• Relationships

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Operate compressed air, diesel, electric, gasoline, or steam-driven hoists or winches to control movement of cableways, cages, derricks, draglines, loaders, railcars, or skips.
• 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.

Work Activities

• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Getting Information
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Detailed Work Activities

• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for no formal educational credential.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Hoist and Winch Operators:

Video Resources