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Crane and Tower Operators vs Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Crane and Tower Operators and Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Crane and Tower Operators Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$66,370
$68,860
Employment · BLS OEWS
42,000
6,130
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
19th pct
10th pct

At a glance

Dimension Crane and Tower Operators Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Median pay $66,370 $68,860
Employment 42,000 6,130
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+3.0%) Declining (-22.3%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 3,800 500
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 19th pct Low · 10th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 25th pct · 18% of tasks —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No —

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Control Precision, Multilimb Coordination, Operation and Control, Far Vision, Depth Perception, Operations Monitoring, Rate Control, Reaction Time, Problem Sensitivity, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Mechanical, Selective Attention, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Critical Thinking, Oral Expression, Active Listening, Monitoring, Oral Comprehension, Perceptual Speed, Visualization, Visual Color Discrimination, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Time Sharing, Finger Dexterity.

Specific to Crane and Tower Operators

  • Response Orientation
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Time Management
  • Mathematics
  • Spatial Orientation
  • Glare Sensitivity
  • Transportation
  • English Language

Specific to Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining

  • Troubleshooting
  • Trunk Strength
  • Education and Training
  • Coordination
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Category Flexibility
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Auditory Attention

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software , Operating system software , Industrial control software , Inventory management software .

Specific to Crane and Tower Operators

Specific to Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Crane and Tower Operators or Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Crane and Tower Operators vs Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/crane-and-tower-operators-vs-loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Crane and Tower Operators vs Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/crane-and-tower-operators-vs-loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-crane-and-tower-operators-vs-loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining,
  title  = {Crane and Tower Operators vs Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/crane-and-tower-operators-vs-loading-and-moving-machine-operators-underground-mining}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.