Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
SOC: 47-2073.00

Description:

Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.

National Salary Information:

Hourly Statistics:

Annual Statistics:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data.

Employment Projections:

Employment (2014):
363,400 employed

Projected (2024):
400,600 employed

Projected growth (2014-2024)


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 2014-2024 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Alternate Titles:

  • Angle Dozer Operator
  • Back Hoe Operator
  • Backhoe Operator
  • Blade Grader Operator
  • Blade Operator
  • Bulldozer Engineer
  • Bulldozer Operator
  • Bulldozer/Loader/Compactor/Scraper
  • Bush Hog Operator
  • Cable Engineer
  • Car Runner
  • Carrier Operator
  • Catshovel Driver
  • Clamshell Engineer
  • Crane Engineer
  • Derrick Engineer
  • Digging Machine Operator
  • Dirt Supervisor
  • Ditcher Operator
  • Ditching Machine Engineer
  • Ditching Machine Operating Engineer
  • Ditching Machine Operator
  • Dozer Operator
  • Dragline Engineer
  • Dump Attendant
  • Elevating Grader Operator
  • Engineering Equipment Operator
  • Equipment Driver
  • Equipment Operating Engineer
  • Equipment Operator
  • Equipment Operator/Laborer
  • Equipment Operator/Laborer/Supervisor
  • Excavating Machine Operator
  • Excavator Operator
  • Field Foreman
  • Field Mechanic/Site Lead
  • Forklift Operator
  • Form Grader Operator
  • Gang Mower Operator
  • Gradall Operator
  • Grader
  • Grader Operator
  • Grader Patrol
  • Grading Machine Operator
  • Heater Planer Operator
  • Heavy Equipment Operating Engineer
  • Heavy Equipment Operator
  • Heavy Equipment Operator/Paver
  • Heavy Machinery Operator
  • Heavy Road Construction Equipment Operator
  • Hoe Runner
  • Hoisting Engineer
  • Hydraulic Hammer Operator
  • Land Leveler
  • Landfill Grader
  • Lift Slab Operator
  • Loader Operator
  • Loader Operator/Ground Leader
  • Loading Machine Operator
  • Locomotive Crane Engineer
  • Machine Operator
  • Maintainer Operator
  • Maintenance Operator
  • Motor Grader Operator
  • Muck Operator
  • Mucker Operator
  • Mucking Machine Operator
  • Operating Engineer
  • Operating Engineer Apprentice
  • Operator
  • Operator and Truck Driver
  • Operator Engineer
  • Operator/Assistant Foreman
  • Power Grader Operator
  • Power Shovel Engineer
  • Road Equipment Operator
  • Road Grader
  • Road Grader Operator
  • Road Hogger Operator
  • Road Machine Operator
  • Road Machine Runner
  • Road Roller Engineer
  • Roller
  • Roller man
  • Roller Operator
  • Rooter Operator
  • Rotary Soil Stabilizer
  • Sander
  • Sanitary Landfill Operator
  • Scarifier Operator
  • Scrap Drop Engineer
  • Scraper Operator
  • Shovel Engineer
  • Slab Lifting Engineer
  • Stabilizer Operator
  • Steam Shovel Engineer
  • Steam Shovel Operating Engineer
  • Steam Shovel Operator
  • Steam Shovel Runner
  • Street Roller Engineer
  • Track Hoe Operator
  • Utility Tractor Operator

    • Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

    Experience:

    Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

    Education:

    These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

    Job Training:

    Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

    Required Skills:

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Equipment Selection
  • Programming
  • Operation Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Time Management
  • Management of Financial Resources
  • Management of Material Resources
  • Management of Personnel Resources

    • Knowledge Used:

  • Administration and Management
  • Clerical
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Production and Processing
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Design
  • Building and Construction
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Psychology
  • Geography
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Foreign Language
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Law and Government
  • Telecommunications
  • Communications and Media
  • Transportation

    • Tasks:

  • Learn and follow safety regulations.
  • Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.
  • Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.
  • Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.
  • Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
  • Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.
  • Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
  • Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment.
  • Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain.
  • Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
  • Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.
  • Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
  • Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.
  • Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.
  • Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.
  • Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
  • Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces.
  • Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds.
  • Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
  • Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.
  • Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders.
  • Perform specialized work, using equipment such as pile drivers, dredging rigs, drillers, or concrete pumpers.
  • Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required.
  • Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.
  • Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.
  • Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps.
  • Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots.
  • Operate conveyors to remove grit and debris from digesters.
  • Compile cost estimates for jobs.

    • Tools & Technology:

  • 15-ton truck cranes
  • 18-ton hydraulic cranes
  • 20-ton tractors
  • Adjustable wrenches
  • Aeroil propane kettles
  • Air compressors
  • Angle dozers
  • Aquatic weed harvesters
  • Asphalt compactors
  • Asphalt pavers
  • Asphalt spreader boxes
  • Axes
  • Backhoe attachments
  • Backhoes
  • Barrier movers
  • Basin machines
  • Belly dumpers
  • Belt loaders
  • Blade attachments
  • Box scrapers
  • Bucket attachments
  • Bulldozers
  • Cell phones
  • Chain saws
  • Chemical-resistant clothing
  • Cherry pickers
  • Chip spreaders
  • Churn drills
  • Circular saws
  • Concrete saws
  • Crawler dozers
  • Cultipackers
  • Curb pavers
  • Cutting torches
  • Demolition machines
  • Dempster dumpers
  • Derricks
  • Desktop computers
  • Ditchers
  • Draglines
  • Dredges
  • Drill presses
  • Ear plugs
  • End loaders
  • Extender conveyors
  • Flatbed trucks
  • Forklifts
  • Front end loaders
  • Gas welders
  • Graders
  • Grinders
  • Groovers
  • Gutter pavers
  • Hammers
  • Harrows
  • Heavy dump trucks
  • Heavy duty excavators
  • Hoists
  • Hydraulic boom trucks
  • Hydraulic cranes
  • Hydraulic jacks
  • Hydraulic telescoping boom utility trucks
  • Industrial scrapers
  • Jackhammers
  • Land drilling rigs
  • Laydown machines
  • Levels
  • Mainline paint stripers
  • Manlifts
  • Measuring wheels
  • Mechanical sweepers
  • Milling machines
  • Mini excavators
  • Monorails
  • Motor graders
  • Mowers
  • Multipurpose vacuum catch basin cleaners
  • Oiling equipment
  • Pavement breakers
  • Personal computers
  • Picks
  • Pickup trucks
  • Pipe threaders
  • Post hole diggers
  • Power drills
  • Power sanders
  • Power saws
  • Respirators
  • Road finishing machines
  • Road watering equipment
  • Robotic concrete busters
  • Robotic machines
  • Rollers
  • Ross carriers
  • Roustabout cranes
  • Rubber-tired excavators
  • Rulers
  • Runway deicers
  • Safety boots
  • Safety glasses
  • Safety gloves
  • Saws
  • Scoopmobiles
  • Scrapers
  • Screwdrivers
  • Seeders
  • Sewer rodding machines
  • Shielded arc welding tools
  • Shot blasters
  • Shovels
  • Silent hoists
  • Single axle dump trucks
  • Skid steer loaders
  • Skid steer machines
  • Skip loaders
  • Snow blowers
  • Snowplows
  • Sweepers
  • Tampers
  • Tandem axle dump trucks
  • Tankers
  • Tape measures
  • Telescopic forklifts
  • Tilt graders
  • Tracked hydraulic excavators
  • Tracked loaders
  • Tractors
  • Travel lifts
  • Treecutters
  • Trenchers
  • Truck cranes
  • Truck trailers
  • Truck-mounted generators
  • Tugger hoists
  • Turf quakers
  • Turn-a-pulls
  • Two way radios
  • Two-man augers
  • Utility locators
  • Vacuum pumps
  • Vertical drills
  • Verticutters
  • Vibratory compactors
  • Water pumps
  • Weedeaters
  • Wheel loaders
  • Winches
  • Maintenance record software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Work record software

    • construction and extraction

    industry stats

    SOC: 47-0000

    Total Employed: 5,477,820

    Average Annual Salary: $47,580