Breaking Into the Trade - How to Get Certified, Get Hired, and Build a Career in Crane Rigging.

Thinking about becoming a crane rigger — or already studying for the test?

This is the guide I wish someone had handed me before my first day. It tells you what the job really is, what the certification test actually covers, and what your first year in the trade looks like — in plain words, from a man who works the job every day.

Inside (46 pages):

- No Ticket, No Job — why certification comes before everything, and how NCCER and NCCCO work

- What a Rigger Actually Does All Day — the work, the crew, the lifts

- The Rigger Life — my own mornings, from the coffee pot to the permit office, plus the real paperwork: my JSA, my lift plan, and my permit from a real job

- What the Test Actually Covers — the computer test, the hands-on, and the radio test, plus my own test-day story: computer number 10, one hour, 100 questions

- Hitches, Knots, and Sling Angles — the skills the test and the job both demand

- The First Year — Plan, Pay, and Moving Up — the 90-day plan, real pay numbers (I started at $25.00 an hour; today I make $38.50), and the road from Basic to Advanced

- Practice quizzes with a full answer key

- Appendix: Hand Signals — Know Them Cold — a 20-signal quiz and key

This is not a textbook and it is not a collection of test answers. It is one rigger telling you the truth about the trade — the early mornings, the responsibility, the pay, and the pride — so you walk in knowing what you're signing up for.

Format: PDF, 46 pages. Reads on any phone, tablet, or computer.

About the author: Doug Weitzel is a Certified Advanced Crane Rigger working in industrial crane and rigging in Texas. He trained at the Craft Training Center of the Coastal Bend in Corpus Christi and works 50-hour weeks on plant and heavy-lift jobs.