National
| Median wages (2008) |
$18.88 hourly, $39,270 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
424,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Average (7% to 13%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
118,000 additional employees |
47-2073.00 - Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
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.
Sample of reported job titles:
Equipment Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator, Operating Engineer, Back Hoe Operator, Loader Operator, Machine Operator, Motor Grader Operator, Track Hoe Operator, Excavator Operator, Grader Operator
Tasks
- Learn and follow safety regulations.
- Take actions to avoid potential hazards and obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, and falling objects.
- Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, and swing booms.
- Start engines, move throttles, switches, and levers, and depress pedals to operate machines such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, and backhoes.
- Locate underground services, such as pipes and 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, and 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, and rocks, and 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.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Dump trucks — Belly dumpers; Heavy dump trucks; Single axle dump trucks; Tandem axle dump trucks |
| Front end loaders — End loaders; Tracked loaders |
| Graders — Motor graders; Tilt graders |
| Hoists — Silent hoists; Tugger hoists |
| Land drilling rigs — Churn drills; Vertical drills |
| Power saws — Chain saws; Circular saws; Concrete saws |
| Scrubbing machines — Mechanical sweepers; MultiPurpose vacuum catch basin cleaners; Sweepers |
| Skid steer loaders — Skid steer machines; Skiploaders |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Facilities management software — Maintenance record software |
| Time accounting software — Work record software |
