Heavy Equipment

One of the jobs that is available in construction is operating the construction equipment. This type of position pays a pretty high hourly wage, however, a heavy equipment oporator cannot always work if the weather is bad. This means that the total amount earned during the year may not be quite as high as you would think. However, the job availability is pretty good.

In order to begin with any job, you need to get the proper training. There are a couple different ways of getting trained to be a heavy equipment oporator. These include getting on the job training and completing a trade certification apprenticeship. The latter option provides much better training and is the recommended way to go.

These apprenticeship programs are offered by the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Associated General Contractors of America. They usually last for about three years and include both paid on-the-job training as well as classroom training. The reason these programs are preferred is because they teach you how to use a wider variety of equipment and give you more in-depth training than you would get just working on the job with an experienced person.

There are more job opportunities available to those who have completed a training program because of this. Formal training also opens up the chance of getting certifications that show you are skilled at operating certain equipment. These usually need to be renewed after three to five years.

Heavy equipment oporators might work with a variety of different construction equipment in order to build roads, buildings or bridges. Equipment might include cranes, paving and surfacing equipment, diggers, pile drivers, bulldozers, scrapers and tamping equipment. Some of the more complicated equipment that uses a lot of electronics will require extra experience and training in order to learn how to use it. It is advantageous if you have some experience with fixing the equipment and if you get a commercial drivers licence.

Pay scale for heavy equipment oporators depends in part on which equipment they normally operate. However, the median salary ranges from about $15 per hour to $30 per hour, with those who operate pile drivers on the higher end of the pay scale and those who operate surfacing, paving, and tamping equipment on the lower end of the scale. Actual wages of course depend on the training, experience, location, and employer, as well as other factors.