← All 785 jobsFile 53-7021
Crane and Tower Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 3.8% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #449 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +3.8% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $68,080 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 42,900 in the US, with about 3,500 openings a year
The work, 13 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment17%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain vehicles in working condition15%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment11%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
AI does this: Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data9%
AI performed this in about 1 in 683 Copilot conversations and completed it 82% of the time.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Assemble equipment or components9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Signal others to coordinate work activities2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 104 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 3,500 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 31% of the workElectric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers0% AI does, against 13% here+4.4% by 2035 · $56,210 · High school diploma
- Shares 31% of the workElevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers8% AI does, against 13% here+5.7% by 2035 · $109,910 · High school diploma
- Shares 30% of the workFarm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians7% AI does, against 13% here+10.7% by 2035 · $56,550 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.07, higher than 21% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 53-7021 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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