What Can I Do with a Mobile Crane Operator Certification?

Opportunities with mobile crane certification

Mobile cranes are among the most versatile and widely used lifting utilities in work sites across the world. Their diversity in application is not without attached risk, such as improper handling, loss of balance, and falling loads, all of which could potentially cause harm to people and damage structures in the area of operation. To mitigate these risks, mobile crane operators are required to go through competent and professionally administered heavy equipment training and testing. This will give them the skills and competencies they need to make the work site safe and efficient. Mobile crane certification also opens up the trainee’s options of engaging the industry in several ways, some of which we will have a deeper look into.

Why is Certification Required in the United States?

Certification is one of the ways that an individual or organization can be nationally (and internationally) recognized for its capacity to properly successfully complete certain tasks. This is no different for mobile crane certification. To avoid liability and as a test of professional competence, the government has made it a requirement that crane operators should be trained and certified. This improves safety, helps protect operators, their employees and their clients in the case of incidents at the site, and determining liability.

Schedule your mobile crane onsite training

Things To Do with a Mobile Crane Operator Certification

Be An Apprentice

Before operating individually or fully under an employer, certified crane operators can be apprentices under more experienced certified crane operators (a.k.a. journeymen). They still stand to earn and learn while apprenticing, adding value to their certification through on-site experience.

A Valuable Member at The Jobsite

Whether as apprentices, individually contracted, or working with organizations, the skills picked up and verified through training and testing will be assets at the work site. Safety will be improved since they follow protocols and safety operation measures, and so will efficiency since they have the know-how of getting tasks done well.

Ready to begin mobile crane training?

Choose Your Industry with a Mobile Crane Certification

The versatility of mobile cranes makes it possible to find work in a variety of industries. They include heavy industries, construction, sanitation, agriculture, maintenance and repair, and even IT.

Different types of mobile cranes are also exclusively applied in certain industries, such as cherry pickers in agriculture and mobile crane certification gives competency in operating most of them, with some requiring additional training. If the hiring company/organization or individual has the need to move loads between points or on-site, as a certified crane operator you can choose where to apply your skills.

What Are Some Mobile Crane Operator Interview Questions?

Whether you are interviewing for a mobile crane position or seeking the hire a qualified mobile crane operator, some mobile crane operator interview questions to be prepared are:

  • What safety measures will you implement on the work site?
  • How do you feel working under extreme and/or diverse environmental conditions?
  • How do you move loads of different types, such as liquid containers or precious cargo?
  • What type of mobile crane do you feel most confident operating?

Some more challenging questions could entail:

  • What systems do you use to check weight to ensure there is no overload?
  • What methods do you use to review daily work or delivery schedules?
  • Walk us through the inspection and adjustment of crane mechanisms.
  • Describe a situation when your life was at risk while operating a crane and your reaction to the situation.

Mobile Crane Operator Salary

A certified mobile crane operator stands to earn an average range of from $45,000 generally when starting out to $60,000 after a few years of experience. These figures are subject to change depending on the employer and any extra certifications of competency that the certified mobile crane operator earns.

Where Can I Get a Mobile Crane Operator Certification?

To become certified in mobile crane operations, one must first get experience either from training, apprenticeship programs, or on the job. Total Equipment Training offers onsite heavy equipment training to hone the skills of novice to experienced operators.

Once an operator is competent and comfortable in the seat of the crane, they are ready to take their Certification Exam. OSHA has approved the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) as the nationally recognized testing agency for certifying crane operators. Total Equipment Training can provide your crane operators with written and practical heavy equipment exam prep, as well as facilitate NCCCO Certification Exams at your site. Our trainers are NCCCO certified and have the experience and knowledge to prepare your operators for testing.

Contact us today if you still have any questions!



Barb Fullman- CEO of Total Equipment Training
About the Author

As the owner of Total Equipment Training, Barb Fullman has been an active contributor to the heavy equipment training industry for over 23 years. Barb, a Penn State University graduate, is recognized as the highest ranking women-owned heavy equipment training business in the US. As a leading authority and provider of heavy equipment training, training manuals and tests based on OSHA Standards and Regulations, Total Equipment Trainings’ client list is composed of most of the Fortune 1000 companies focusing on energy, construction, heavy highway, and manufacturing.

Barb’s motto is “Stay safe, stay up to date”. She is committed to up-to-date & technically correct training, whether it is via in-person or through our library of online heavy equipment resources. With over 50 OSHA qualifying training topics to choose from with TET, the most popular heavy equipment training subjects are mobile cranes, NCCCO, all “dirt equipment”, rigging, crane inspections, and train-the-trainer.