OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE Equipment Operator (47-2073.00) At-a-Glance Statistics Sample Back Hoe Operator, Engineering Equipment Operator, Equipment Operator, Heavy . . Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Machine Operator, Motor Grader Operator, JOD I ItieS Operating Engineer, Operator, Track Hoe Operator Key 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. • Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work. • Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met. • Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms. • 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. • Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment. • Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability. • 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. • Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines. • Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered. • Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers. ------- Education and Training Top Industries High school diploma or equivalent 67% Post-secondary certificate 18% Less than a high school diploma 13% Median Wages Hourly $17.21 EH Annually $35,800 Construction Government Number Employed 402,000 positions 52,500 job openings Top Ten States for Occupational Percentage Growth UT FL CO TX OR AZ CA NV ID DC ------- |