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.
Also called: Pile Driver, Pile Driver Operator, Pile Driving Operator
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $121,900
- $58.61/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 90
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +7.3%
- 20 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- High school diploma or equivalent
- plus Moderate-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $52,280 | $116,160 | $121,900 | $124,650 | $124,700 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d 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.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure5 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 9
- Language-model AIOE 3
- GPTs-are-GPTs 3
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
This job has lower AI exposure, and observed AI use is little or none. Better equipment and technology may help operators drive piles faster. Positioning piles, running the hammer, and checking and caring for heavy machinery still depend on a skilled operator on site.
Likely to change
- Equipment checks and machine monitoring
- Tracking pile depth and progress
Still relies on people
- Positioning pilings and hammers with levers
- Hands-on equipment cleaning and maintenance
What federal projections say
“Productivity change - share decreases as improved equipment and technology allow operators to drive piles more quickly.”
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Who employs pile driver operators on Boston construction projects
Hours worked on projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs Policy over the last 24 months. This shows who has employed pile driver operators, not who has openings.
65,533 worker hours from Oct 20, 2024 to Oct 19, 2026 (trades: Piledriver).
- 14.3%
- of hours by boston residents
- 21.9%
- of hours by people of color
- 4.9%
- of hours by women
| Employer | Worker hours | Boston resident share | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Marine Construction LLC | 24,264 | 12.8% | 3 |
| Treviicos Corporation | 8,448 | 23.0% | 3 |
| J.F. White Contracting Company | 6,268 | 1.9% | 1 |
| A. A. Will Corporation | 5,247 | 8.2% | 5 |
| ACK Marine General Contracting | 3,974 | 22.1% | 1 |
| Keller North America | 3,368 | 23.8% | 5 |
| BTT Marine Construction | 3,152 | 0.0% | 2 |
| Allied Pile Driving | 2,950 | 0.0% | 1 |
Related occupations
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
- Hoist and Winch Operators
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
- Riggers
- Construction Laborers
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
- Crane and Tower Operators
Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
Talk to a career coach