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.
Also called: Pile Driver · Pile Driver Operator · Pile Driving Operator
Median pay (national)
$70,510
$46,690–$121,990 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
3,040
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+4.3%
~300 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for pile driver operators shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $121,990 versus $46,690 at the bottom 10% — 2.6x. The median of $70,510 leaves roughly 73% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +4.3% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 300 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 15 states with released data, New Jersey pays the most for this role (median $125,050, +77% vs the national median), while North Carolina sits lowest at $44,990 — a 178% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
Tools & technology
- Global positioning system GPS software
- GRL Engineers Wave Equation Analysis Program GRLWEAP
- Pile Dynamics Case Pile Wave Analysis Program CAPWAP
- Pile Dynamics Pile Driving Analyzer PDA
- Email software
- Microsoft Excel
Knowledge areas
- Building and Construction
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Transportation
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
- Design
- Production and Processing