Heavy Equipment Operator: Excavator

Median Annual Income

$45,300

Projected Job Growth

+8 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

No formal educational credential

Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.

Median Annual Income

$63,550

Projected Job Growth

+5 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent

Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures such as buildings, bridges, and piers.

Median Annual Income

$56,160

Projected Job Growth

+4 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent

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.

Median Annual Income

$61,420

Projected Job Growth

-2 %

Career Cluster(s)

Energy & Natural Resources

Most Common Education Level

No formal educational credential

Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.

Median Annual Income

$64,070

Projected Job Growth

-23 %

Career Cluster(s)

Energy & Natural Resources

Most Common Education Level

No formal educational credential

Operate underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.

Median Annual Income

$61,900

Projected Job Growth

+9 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in construction, logging, and mining.

Median Annual Income

$57,350

Projected Job Growth

+8 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent

Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.

Median Annual Income

$64,690

Projected Job Growth

+4 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

High school diploma or equivalent

Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.

Median Annual Income

$55,950

Projected Job Growth

-1 %

Career Cluster(s)

Construction

Most Common Education Level

No formal educational credential

Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.

Median Annual Income

$44,470

Projected Job Growth

+3 %

Career Cluster(s)

Supply Chain & Transportation

Most Common Education Level

No formal educational credential

Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.