Photo: NAVFAC (CC BY 2.0)
Job description
Before a lift, riggers select gear sized to the load's weight and the space available, attach the load, and test the rigging to confirm it's safe before anything moves. During the lift itself, they signal or verbally direct crane and equipment operators, guiding heavy loads through narrow openings or confined spaces where a small miscalculation could be dangerous. Once the job wraps, riggers dismantle and store the equipment, and the same core skills carry across very different settings, from a construction site or shipyard to touring entertainment productions.
Pros
- Pay ceiling near $98k with just a high school diploma and apprenticeship
- Faster than average projected job growth (3.2% over the next decade)
- Specialized, high-skill work selecting and setting up gear for complex heavy lifts
Cons
- A relatively small number of positions nationwide, so opportunities may be geographically limited
- Above-average hours, often exceeding a standard 40-hour work week
- High-consequence work: rigging errors on heavy loads risk serious injury to the team
A typical day
The morning briefing covers today's critical lift: a 40-ton HVAC unit going onto a hospital roof, and the rigger walks the plan — crane position, sling angles, load weight verified against the chart, tag lines assigned. Rigging the load is exacting craft: shackles inspected, slings padded on edges, the center of gravity found because an unbalanced load is a violent load. The rigger signals the crane operator with precise hand signals as the pick rises, the whole site's eyes on the load path. The afternoon holds smaller picks — steel beams to the third floor — plus gear inspection, where a frayed sling gets cut up and trashed on the spot. No lift is routine; the ones that go wrong were called routine first.
Tasks at the job
- 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.
- 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.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens primarily outdoors, exposed to whatever the weather is doing, and most of the day is spent on your feet, and you work in close physical proximity to coworkers or the public for much of the shift. Noise levels can be distracting or uncomfortable. The role involves regular exposure to hazardous equipment or conditions and contaminants and working at heights, and standard protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, and similar) is expected.
The pace is often fast, with real time pressure to meet deadlines. Precision and accuracy are essential to the work. You'll regularly deal with frustrated or upset people as part of the job, and almost all of the work is done as part of a team.
Education necessary or common
High school diploma; some on-the-job training or apprenticeship
Licenses & certifications
- NCCCO Rigger Level I/II
- Qualified Rigger designation (employer)
- OSHA 10 Construction
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Geometry & Physics — load angles, centers of gravity, and force multiplication
- Algebra — load calculations from charts
- Shop — the trade's hands-on base
- Physical Education — strength and site fitness
Clubs, activities & competitions
- SkillsUSA
- Theater stage crew — actual rigging experience with lights and scenery
- Climbing gym — rope and knot literacy
- Robotics team
First steps you can take now
- Learn six essential knots and the physics of sling angles from free rigging guides
- Join theater stage crew and ask for fly-rail and rigging duties
- Get OSHA 10 Construction online
- Look up NCCCO rigger certification and ironworker/millwright apprenticeships
