Explore by Career/Construction and Extraction
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
- Median pay
- $52,550
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -0.4%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
What they do
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
- Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
- Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
- Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
- Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
- Lubricate, adjust, or repair machinery and replace parts, such as gears, bearings, or bucket teeth.
- Handle slides, mud, or pit cleanings or maintenance.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.