Operating Engineer / Heavy Equipment Operator
Quick Facts
Median Salary$56,777
Most Common EducationHigh school or GED
Projected 10-Year Growth+21.89%
Assessment MatchTake the Assessment
What They Do
An Operating Engineer or Heavy Equipment Operator drives and operates heavy equipment used in quarries, construction sites, landfills, refuse and recycling centers, or ports. Heavy Equipment may include, but is not limited to, bulldozers, excavators, paving equipment and pile drivers.
Core 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.
- Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.
- Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
- Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
- Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
- Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
- Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.
- 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.
- Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.
- Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.
- Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.
- Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
- Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.
- Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.
- Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.
- Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots.
What to expect as an Operating Engineer / Heavy Equipment Operator
1Earn a High school or GED Diploma
32% of people achieve this level of education.
2Gain skills and experience
See Operating Engineer / Heavy Equipment Operator related courses on Tallo
3Land a job
5943 openings for Operating Engineers / Heavy Equipment Operators
Career Progression
in United States (Nation)
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