Careers / Riggers

Riggers — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$62,640

United States, 2025

Employment

22,530

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.

O*NET code
49-9096.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
  • Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
  • Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
  • Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
  • Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
  • Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
  • Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
  • Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$40,680
10th
$48,210
25th
$62,640
Median
$80,180
75th
$97,850
90th

10th percentile

$40,680

25th percentile

$48,210

75th percentile

$80,180

90th percentile

$97,850

Most important skills

  • Operation and Control3.3
  • Active Listening3.1
  • Reading Comprehension3.1
  • Operations Monitoring3.1
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Monitoring3.1
  • Coordination3.1
  • Time Management3.0
  • Speaking3.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.0
  • Quality Control Analysis2.9

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 11 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

11

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Operation and Control3.33.3Not selected3.3
Operations Monitoring3.13.1Not selected3.1
Monitoring3.13.1Not selected3.1
Coordination3.13.1Not selected3.1
Active Listening3.13.0Not selected3.0
Critical Thinking3.13.0Not selected3.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.03.0Not selected3.0
Complex Problem Solving3.03.0Not selected3.0
Time Management3.02.9Not selected2.9
Speaking3.02.8Not selected2.8
Reading Comprehension3.12.4Not selected2.4

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Fargo, ND$169,480502025
NY$105,6006502025
New York, NY$103,0306202025
Salt Lake City, UT$97,8502702025
Los Angeles, CA$96,8801,2502025
OR$94,4702902025
UT$93,6404902025
Baltimore, MD$91,4301102025
MD$91,4202302025
Urban Honolulu, HI$87,5701702025
MN$87,1201902025
Minneapolis, MN$87,1201402025
CA$85,7302,2602025
Bremerton, WA$85,3005702025
HI$84,4101702025
San Francisco, CA$82,3701402025
Las Vegas, NV$82,1307702025
NJ$82,1302002025
Chicago, IL$81,8601002025
IL$81,8601202025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Riggers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.