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Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
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.
Also Known As:
Back Hoe Operator
Engineering Equipment Operator
Equipment Operator (EO)
Forklift Operator
Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO)
Hot Mix Asphalt Operator
Machine Operator
Motor Grader Operator
Operating Engineer
Track Hoe Operator
Annual wages for Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators in Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
Florida's
2034 Projected Employment
32,610
12% Change From 2024
United States
2034 Projected Employment
507,100
4% Change From 2024
Explore Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.
- Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.
- Learn and follow safety regulations.
- Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.
- Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.
- Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.
- Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots.
- Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
- Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
- Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.
- Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.
- Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps.
- 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.
- Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders.
- Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
- Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
- Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.
- Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds.
- Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
- Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.
- Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment.
- Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
- Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.
- Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required.
- Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.
- Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces.
- Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
- Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
- Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")