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Skills that move you up the board

• Crane operator

  Working the ship-to-shore gantry, often more than 100 feet up. The best paid job on the dock and the hardest to get into.

• Top handler and yard equipment

  The machines that stack and move containers around the terminal. A step above general labor.

• Lashing and hold work

  Where nearly everyone starts. Heavy, and it teaches you how a ship is actually loaded.

• Walking boss or foreman

  Running a gang. Comes with seniority and a reputation, not a course.