What the work involves, what it pays, and grounded tasks, skills, tools, and experience you can choose from.
Also called acid crane operator, boom cat operator, boom crane operator and boomswing operator.
$68,080
Median pay a year
42,890
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Real figures for this work, and lines you can use in your own resume. Where they come from is at the foot of this page.
An example
A Crane and Tower Operator resume, filled in
Common skills that can help you remember what you used on the job.
Inspecting material-moving equipment
Weighing materials
Maintaining material moving equipment
Reviewing work orders
Inspecting work
Verifying information or specifications
Cleaning machinery and equipment
Loading materials
Securing cargo
Installing parts
Operating moving or lifting equipment
Recording production data
Every line comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Crane and Tower Operator
Summary
Crane and tower operator moving materials and products using mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment, ensuring load safety and equipment maintenance
Experience
Crane and Tower Operator
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Moved levers, depressed foot pedals, or turned dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, and electromagnets for lifting and placing loads
Determined load weights and checked them against lifting capacities to prevent overload
Inspected and adjusted crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage
Inspected cables or grappling devices for wear and installed or replaced cables as needed
Directed helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes
Cleaned, lubricated, and maintained mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs as necessary
Reviewed daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions
Skills
Checking & Planning
Inspecting material-moving equipment, Weighing materials, Inspecting work, Verifying information or specifications
Core Skills
Reviewing work orders, Driver's license, Maintaining material moving equipment
Hands-On Work
Cleaning machinery and equipment, Loading materials, Securing cargo, Installing parts
Education
Certificate Your training program, Year
Yours will not say this. You choose what matches your experience, and every line remains yours to confirm or change.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Crane and Tower Operator resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Determined load weights against lifting capacitiesOperated cranes and other moving equipmentInspected and adjusted crane mechanisms regularlyChecked cables for wear and replaced as neededDirected helpers in placing blocking under cranesCleaned and maintained crane mechanisms and accessories
becomes
On your resume
Determined load weights and verified them against lifting capacities to prevent overload and ensure safe operations.
Inspected and adjusted crane mechanisms regularly to ensure safe and efficient operation
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Show what improved once the load weights were verified.
The line
Determined load weights and verified them against lifting capacities, reducing the risk of accidents on site.
Show what improved once the load weights were verified.
Pick one that fits
Reduced risk of accidents on siteImproved overall safety for crewEnhanced efficiency in load handling
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Add what got better because you inspected and adjusted mechanisms.
The line
Inspected and adjusted crane mechanisms regularly to ensure safe and efficient operation
Add what got better because you inspected and adjusted mechanisms.
Pick one that fits
Minimized downtime due to mechanical failuresEnsured smoother lifting and lowering processes
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
The work itself
What a Crane and Tower Operator does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
What it pays
How much does a Crane and Tower Operator make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$52,600
Median
$68,080
75th percentile
$83,200
About 42,890 people do this work in the United States.
Starting a Crane and Tower Operator resume with no experience
Below are the tasks a Crane and Tower Operator job is made of. Choose the ones you have really done. There is no wrong answer here, and you can change any of it later.
Which of these tasks have you actually done?
4 chosen. Rung never adds a task you did not choose.
Crane and Tower Operator
Already yours: Inspecting material-moving equipment, Weighing materials, Reviewing work orders
4 of the 12 tasks this job is made of
Median pay
$68,080 a year
What you have not done yet. Maintaining material moving equipment, Inspecting work, Cleaning machinery and equipment
Great news! Your skills can open up even more doors.
The tasks for Crane and Tower Operator also qualify you for the jobs below. Creating a resume for one of these could help you land even more interviews.
Choose a job below that you would like to target next:
Railroad Conductor and Yardmaster
Already yours: Reviewing work orders, Verifying information or specifications
2 of the 12 tasks this job is made of
Median pay
$78,000 a year
What you have not done yet. Directing transport activities, Inspecting locomotives, Recording travel details
This page is about the occupation Crane and Tower Operators. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.