‘Love it’: Tradie reveals $200k salary

Industry insiders have backed up claims from a tradie whose huge wage was revealed in a social media video shared widely online.

An Aussie tradie’s claim he makes more than $200,000 per year operating cranes has been backed up by industry figures after it was questioned online.

In a TikTok video posted this week, the man wearing an orange Borger Cranes T-shirt was stopped on the street by a vlogger in Brisbane as part of a promotion for a job seeker app.

Asked what he did for work and how much she earned, the man dropped some surprising figures.

“I drive cranes and 200 (thousand) plus,” he said.

The man, whose name was not given in the video, said he works anywhere from “40 to 70 hours” per week.

He said the specialised job could be “dangerous” at times, and he’d witnessed some close calls, but he wouldn’t change careers.

“It’s hard on the family side. There’s gotta be a lot of compromise,” he said.

“I love it. So I’ll do it as long as I can really.”

Some users questioned the “vague” nature of the man’s answers but several people familiar with the construction industry were quick to provide some input.

The man was stopped on the street in Brisbane.

Crane drivers can work long hours. Pictures: TikTok/@getahead

“They get paid their ordinary rate per hour depending on what size crane they drive,” one person said.

“Under their EBA all overtime is paid at double time … most crane drivers easily earn this income.”

One user commented that the man featured in the video must be working long hours to earn that wage: “yeah only way you’re getting 200k is if you’re pulling those 70 hour weeks constantly”.

Cranes are a common sight in Australian city skylines. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Another person who works industry said crane operators did often work those long hours.

Another commenter said he had made up to “280” in a year working with an unnamed company.

Started in Penrith in Sydney’s west 40 years ago, Borger Cranes now has bases along the east coast from Melbourne to Gympie in Queensland.

The most recent crane count by construction consultency firm Rider Levett Bucknall from the third quarter of 2023 found 882 cranes in Australia’s skylines, with 248 of those in Sydney.

According to seek, the average salary for crane operators in Australia ranges from $110,000 to $130,000.

But job listings for operators and riggers show differences in hourly rates offered by different employers – ranging from $40 per hour up to almost $70 – based on the specific machinery being used.

Borger Cranes machinery has been used in major construction projects along the east coast. Picture: Supplied/Facebook

Analysis conducted by insurance brokerage Trade Risk found the average gross salary for a tradie last year was $90,940 – a 11 per cent increase in 2019 figures.

“We believe it is the best representation of how much Aussie tradies are really earning, as it utilises the taxable incomes provided to us by thousands of self-employed tradies from around Australia,” Trade Risk said in its report.

Coming in at top spot were boilermakers, with an average income of $112,535, followed by electricians on $96,338 and plumbers on $95,507.

Its report found just 4.2 per cent of the nation’s tradies earned more than $150,000 and only 0.3 per cent more than $250,000.

Originally published as ‘Love it’: Tradie reveals $200k salary