---
title: "Hoist and Winch Operator"
description: "Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Hoist and Winch Operator

**Category:** Transportation and Material Moving · **SOC code:** 53-7041 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 53-7041.00

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

Also advertised as: Hoist Operator; Hoisting Operator; Hoistman; Service Operator; Winch Derrick Operator; Winchman.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $56,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $27.14/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,640 to $118,210, with the middle half between $42,690 and $94,350
- **Total US employment:** 2,600
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +0.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 56/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 2,600 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,640 |
| 25th | $42,690 |
| 50th (median) | $56,450 |
| 75th | $94,350 |
| 90th | $118,210 |
| Mean (average) | $67,710 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IL | $118,210 | $118,260 | 320 |
| HI | $107,100 | $97,407 | 120 |
| MD | $99,840 | $95,123 | 140 |
| MN | $78,400 | $79,496 | 60 |
| NY | $74,980 | $69,477 | 110 |
| MA | $62,240 | $58,852 | Not published by BLS |
| OR | $55,880 | $54,063 | 70 |
| MO | $47,510 | $52,314 | 40 |
| OH | $43,000 | $46,349 | Not published by BLS |
| MI | $40,070 | $41,645 | 50 |
| TN | $39,930 | $43,464 | 40 |
| IN | $39,750 | $42,591 | 120 |
| GA | $37,870 | $39,328 | 90 |
| VA | $37,020 | $36,616 | 40 |
| WI | $36,560 | $38,854 | 80 |

2 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 17 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 3,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 3,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 0 jobs, or +0.2%. Slower than average: 0.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training.

## What the work involves

- Observe equipment gauges and indicators and hand signals of other workers to verify load positions or depths.
- Apply hand or foot brakes and move levers to lock hoists or winches.
- Start engines of hoists or winches and use levers and pedals to wind or unwind cable on drums.
- Move or reposition hoists, winches, loads and materials, manually or using equipment and machines such as trucks, cars, and hand trucks.
- Move levers, pedals, and throttles to stop, start, and regulate speeds of hoist or winch drums in response to hand, bell, buzzer, telephone, loud-speaker, or whistle signals, or by observing dial indicators or cable marks.
- Signal and assist other workers loading or unloading materials.
- Select loads or materials according to weight and size specifications.
- Oil winch drums so that cables will wind smoothly.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reaction Time — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Depth Perception — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.89 |
| C — Conventional | 3.33 |
| I — Investigative | 1.55 |
| S — Social | 1.45 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.45 |
| A — Artistic | 1.07 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 84.4 |
| ISTP | 73.6 |
| ISFJ | 72.5 |
| ESTJ | 71.8 |
| INTJ | 60.6 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Rigger](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rigger) — median $62,640
- [Industrial Truck and Tractor Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-truck-and-tractor-operator) — median $46,420
- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator) — median $68,080
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator) — median $59,850
- [Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining](https://nuecareer.com/careers/excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operator-surface-mining) — median $57,430
- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic) — median $65,510
- [Oil and Gas Roustabout](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oil-and-gas-roustabout) — median $46,960
- [Pile Driver Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pile-driver-operator) — median $73,300
- [Maintenance Worker, Machinery](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-worker-machinery) — median $60,850
- [Laborer and Freight, Stock, and Material Mover, Hand](https://nuecareer.com/careers/laborer-and-freight-stock-and-material-mover-hand) — median $40,240

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator