Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.
U.S. Workers
1,030
Median Salary
$48,430
10-Year Growth
+1.2%
Annual Openings
100
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
6 of 6 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Start and stop engines to operate equipment.
AI: Fully automatable - Starting and stopping engines is a simple discrete control already routinely automated or remotely controlled in heavy equipment.
Pump water to clear machinery pipelines.
AI: Fully automatable - Pump control to clear pipelines is a straightforward control-and-sensor problem that is readily automatable with sensors and control logic.
Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads.
AI: Partial - Actuation of levers and hydraulic controls can be automated or remotely operated, but reliable full autonomy for complex, variable dredging tasks still typically requires human oversight in 2025.
Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
AI: Partial - Power winches can be automated and remotely controlled, but the task’s allowance for manual cable handling and ad-hoc physical interventions means AI alone only partially covers it.
Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations.
AI: Partial - Depth sensing and gauge scanning can be automated, and winch actuation is feasible, but reliably executing lowers/verification in variable conditions still often needs human judgment.
Direct or assist workers placing shore anchors and cables, laying additional pipes from dredges to shore, and pumping water from pontoons.
AI: Partial - AI can provide coordination, guidance, and automated pumping, but physically directing or assisting on-the-ground workers and informal teamwork remains a partial automation.