Explore by Career/Construction and Extraction
Pile Driver Operators
Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures such as buildings, bridges, and piers.
- Median pay
- $70,510
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +4.3%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Active Listening
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
What they do
- Move hand and foot levers of hoisting equipment to position piling leads, hoist piling into leads, and position hammers over pilings.
- Move levers and turn valves to activate power hammers, or to raise and lower drophammers that drive piles to required depths.
- Drive pilings to provide support for buildings or other structures, using heavy equipment with a pile driver head.
- Conduct pre-operational checks on equipment to ensure proper functioning.
- Clean, lubricate, and refill equipment.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.