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Riggers vs Crane and Tower Operators

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Riggers and Crane and Tower Operators 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.”

Riggers Crane and Tower Operators
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$62,060
$66,370
Employment · BLS OEWS
24,190
42,000
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
61st pct
19th pct

At a glance

Dimension Riggers Crane and Tower Operators
Median pay $62,060 $66,370
Employment 24,190 42,000
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+3.2%) About average (+3.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,500 3,800
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 61st pct Low · 19th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 10th pct · 13% of tasks 25th pct · 18% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No 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: Problem Sensitivity, Mechanical, Control Precision, Multilimb Coordination, Near Vision, Depth Perception, English Language, Operation and Control, Oral Comprehension, Information Ordering, Far Vision, Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Visualization, Manual Dexterity, Reaction Time, Speech Recognition, Speaking, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning.

Specific to Riggers

  • Public Safety and Security
  • Production and Processing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administration and Management
  • Design
  • Education and Training
  • Trunk Strength
  • Engineering and Technology

Specific to Crane and Tower Operators

  • Rate Control
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Selective Attention
  • Response Orientation
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Speech Clarity
  • Spatial Orientation

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 .

Specific to Riggers

Specific to Crane and Tower Operators

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Riggers or Crane and Tower Operators — 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. "Riggers vs Crane and Tower Operators." 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/riggers-vs-crane-and-tower-operators

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Riggers vs Crane and Tower Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/riggers-vs-crane-and-tower-operators

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-riggers-vs-crane-and-tower-operators,
  title  = {Riggers vs Crane and Tower Operators},
  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/riggers-vs-crane-and-tower-operators}
}

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