Riggers
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Operations Monitoring
- Speaking
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Design
- English Language
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
- Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
- Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
- Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
- 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.
- Align, level, and anchor machinery.
- Fabricate, set up, and repair rigging, supporting structures, hoists, and pulling gear, using hand and power tools.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (62.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (33.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (26.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Riggers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 68% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 63% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 71% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 95% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 85% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 83% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 87% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0.84%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.84%
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.19%
- Contact with others most of the time: 20.62%
- Constant contact with others: 70.5%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15.81%
- Fairly important: 7.78%
- Important: 52.41%
- Very important: 0.84%
- Extremely important: 23.16%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 14.97%
- Very important: 29.24%
- Extremely important: 55.78%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 16.31%
- Limited freedom: 15.56%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 37.96%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 0.84%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.78%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.87%
- Every day: 71.51%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.37%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.18%
- Every day: 27.77%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.1%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 72.59%
- Every day: 0%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 16.31%
- Fairly serious: 0%
- Serious: 11.25%
- Very serious: 22.4%
- Extremely serious: 50.04%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 49-9096.00 · SOC 49-9096 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8