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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

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

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

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

Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
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.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

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:

Dependability
Initiative
Adaptability/Flexibility
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Independence

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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