Also called: Gripper, Cable Car Operator
Operates San Francisco's historic cable cars by gripping a moving underground cable with a giant lever.
You pull a heavy lever to clamp onto a cable moving at 9.5 mph under the street, then release it and brake at every stop on steep hills. You ring the bell, chat with tourists, and need serious upper-body strength.
Estimated; only a few hundred of these jobs exist.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. Transit agency training; one of the hardest operator courses to pass.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing about average. Tiny niche.
Low risk for 10 years. San Francisco's cable cars are a hand-run landmark; there's no plan to automate them.
Classes: PE or fitness, History.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-4041.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.