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Dredge Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.

Related: Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Helpers--Extraction Workers Hoist & Winch Operators Operating Engineers & Other Construction Equipment Operators Rotary Drill Operators, Oil & Gas

Industries: Construction Mining, Oil, & Gas

Summary
Details

Direct or assist workers placing shore anchors and cables, laying additional pipes from dredges to shore, and pumping water from pontoons.
Pump water to clear machinery pipelines.
Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
Start and stop engines to operate equipment.
Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
Direct or assist workers placing shore anchors and cables, laying additional pipes from dredges to shore, and pumping water from pontoons.
Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads.
Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations.

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

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

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

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

U.S. Annual Salary

48430/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

23.28/hr

Currently Employed

1,200

Yearly Projected Openings

100

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

Concern for Others
Leadership
Cooperation
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Self Control

Anchor rollers
Blow torch
Cargo trucks
Chain saw
Conventional truck cranes
Density measurement instrument
Draglines
Dredgers
Dump trucks
Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories
Fire extinguishers
Fire hoses or nozzles
Front end loaders
Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
Grease guns
Life rings
Life vests or preservers
Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
Particle size measuring apparatus
Pneumatic impact wrenches
Ratchets
Rescue ships or boats
Socket sets
Sonars
Speed sensors
Track bulldozers
Two way radios
Vacuum gauges
Water samplers
Weeders
Winches

Data base user interface and query software
Industrial control software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Mobile location based services software

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Dredge Operators

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