Dredge Operators
Also called: Dredge Operator, DredgerOperate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 6 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 0.7% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 8.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 61% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.12.8 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $50,030 | $49,230 to $57,190 | 50 |
| Florida | $52,800 | $46,690 to $60,340 | 40 |
| Iowa | $57,990 | $57,500 to $60,000 | 60 |
| Louisiana | $48,590 | $46,430 to $49,380 | not published |
| Nebraska | $45,290 | $41,040 to $46,830 | 30 |
| New Jersey | $63,810 | $58,700 to $73,010 | 30 |
| Ohio | $53,310 | $48,090 to $55,790 | 40 |
| Texas | $65,580 | $62,540 to $72,960 | not published |
| Wisconsin | $54,310 | $46,320 to $61,030 | not published |
Nationally: $49,640. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 6 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads. | Not published |
| Not much | Start and stop engines to operate equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually. | Not published |
| Not much | Pump water to clear machinery pipelines. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct or assist workers placing shore anchors and cables, laying additional pipes from dredges to shore, and pumping water from pontoons. | Not published |
| Not much | Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 6 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 6 tasks fall under 5 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate construction or excavation equipment | |||
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Assess characteristics of land or property | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for dredge operators specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 2 moves in
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 7% less than high school
- 80% high school
- 9% postsecondary certificate
- 4% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 54% high school
- 21% some college
- 5% associate's
- 5% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators” · 292 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
1 program: Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (DREDGE OPERATOR). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Dredge Operators” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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