Careers > Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

$48.35K Median Salary 5.1K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 4.4% Job Growth

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About This Career

Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.

Reported Job Titles

Backhoe Operator, Dragline Oiler, Dragline Operator, Equipment Operator, Excavator Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Pit Operator, Track Hoe Operator

Career data shown for:

Skills You'll Need

Click on skills to find related courses.

Abilities

Control Precision

Multilimb Coordination

Depth Perception

Manual Dexterity

Reaction Time

Arm-Hand Steadiness

Far Vision

Rate Control

Response Orientation

Near Vision

Spatial Orientation

Auditory Attention

Finger Dexterity

Peripheral Vision

Hearing Sensitivity

Oral Comprehension

Oral Expression

Problem Sensitivity

Speech Recognition

Deductive Reasoning

Flexibility of Closure

Inductive Reasoning

Perceptual Speed

Selective Attention

Speech Clarity

Speed of Limb Movement

Static Strength

Time Sharing

Visual Color Discrimination

Visualization

Written Comprehension

Knowledge

Mechanical

Building and Construction

Skills

Operation and Control

Operations Monitoring

Monitoring

Active Learning

Active Listening

Complex Problem Solving

Coordination

Critical Thinking

Equipment Maintenance

Equipment Selection

Judgment and Decision Making

Persuasion

Reading Comprehension

Repairing

Social Perceptiveness

Speaking

Time Management

Troubleshooting

Technology Skills

Spreadsheet software

Presentation software

Electronic mail software

Industrial control software

Office suite software

Operating system software

Word processing software

Tools

Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories

Mobile excavators

Flatbed trailers

Levels

Draglines

Track excavators

Screwdrivers

Grease guns

Batching plants or feeders

Mainframe console or dumb terminals

Front end loaders

Dump trucks

Boring or sinking machinery

Tape measures

Slings

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders

Touch screen monitors

Goggles

Wheel excavators

Tire pressure gauge

Crusher hammer

Low bed trailer

Wheel chocks

Claw hammer

Wheel loaders

Backhoes

Grapples

Skid steer loaders

Water trucks

Rock crushers

Respirators

Forklifts

Locking pliers

Adjustable wrenches

Abilities

Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Knowledge

Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.

Skills

Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection: Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Technology Skills

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Industrial control software: Industrial Scientific iNET; QuestSuite Professional
Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Operating system software: Microsoft Windows
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word

Tools

Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories: Crusher excavator buckets; Earthmover standard buckets; Rock buckets; Trencher excavator attachments
Mobile excavators: Long reach excavators; Mini excavators; Truck excavators; Vacuum excavators
Flatbed trailers: Utility trailers
Levels: Optical levels
Draglines: Crawler mounted draglines; Rock draglines; Walking draglines
Track excavators: Compact excavators; Hydraulic excavators; Tracked excavators
Screwdrivers: Mini screwdriver sets
Grease guns:
Batching plants or feeders: Asphalt plants; Concrete plants
Mainframe console or dumb terminals: Computer terminals
Front end loaders: Wheeled front end loaders
Dump trucks: Rock trucks
Boring or sinking machinery: Power augers
Tape measures: Diameter tape measures
Slings: Rigging equipment
Acoustic ear muffs or defenders: Protective ear muffs
Touch screen monitors: Interactive whiteboards
Goggles: Safety goggles
Wheel excavators: Wheeled excavators
Tire pressure gauge: Tire pressure gauges
Crusher hammer: Rock hammers
Low bed trailer: Low bed trailers
Wheel chocks:
Claw hammer: Claw hammers
Wheel loaders: Front and back shovel wheel loaders
Backhoes: Backhoe-equipped tractors
Grapples: Timber tongs
Skid steer loaders: Bobcats
Water trucks:
Rock crushers:
Respirators: Half-face respirators; Respirator hose masks
Forklifts:
Locking pliers: Channel lock pliers; Vise grip pliers
Adjustable wrenches: Adjustable hand wrenches

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