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Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Continuous Mining Machine Operators Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Hoist & Winch Operators Industrial Truck & Tractor Operators Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics

Industries: Construction Government

Summary
Details

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

Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.

Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.

Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

79190/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

38.07/hr

Currently Employed

11,040

Yearly Projected Openings

1110

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Cautiousness
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Perseverance
Integrity

Adjustable wrenches
Agricultural rollers
Agricultural tractors
Air compressors
Articulating boom lift
Asphalt finishers
Axes
Backhoe boom or boom sections
Backhoes
Bituminous material distributors
Blades or tooth or other cutting edges
Blow torch
Cargo trucks
Chip Spreaders
Compactors
Conventional truck cranes
Conveyor rails
Curbing machines
Demolition equipment kits
Derricks
Desktop computers
Ditchers
Draglines
Drain or pipe cleaning equipment
Dredgers
Drilling machines
Dump trucks
Ear plugs
Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories
Edgers
Elevating scrapers
Extendable conveyors
Flatbed trailers
Forestry saws
Forklifts
Front end loaders
Gas generators
Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
Graders
Hammers
Harrows
Hazardous material protective apparel
Hoists
Hydraulic truck cranes
Jacks
Joint cleaning or refacing machines
Kettle exchangers
Land drilling rigs
Levels
Lifts
Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
Loading equipment
Manlift or personnel lift
Measuring wheels for distance
Metal detectors
Milling machines
Mobile excavators
Mobile phones
Mowers
Paint sprayers
Paving breakers
Personal computers
Pick or place robots
Picks
Pneumatic hammer
Post hole digger
Power drills
Power grinders
Power sanders
Power saws
Protective gloves
Pulled scrapers
Respirators
Road pavers
Rollers
Rollers for lawn or sports grounds
Rulers
Safety boots
Safety glasses
Saws
Screwdrivers
Scrubbing machines
Seeder attachment
Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
Shovels
Skid steer loaders
Snow blowers
Snowplow attachments
Sprayers
Tampers
Tape measures
Telescoping boom lift
Threading die hand tool
Track bulldozers
Track cranes
Track excavators
Track loaders
Trenching machines
Two way radios
Vacuum pumps
Vibratory plates
Water pumps
Water trucks
Weeders
Wheel bulldozers
Wheel excavators
Wheel loaders
Winches

Electronic mail software
Facilities management software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Spreadsheet software
Time accounting software

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