Construction and Extraction · Holland code RCI

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 called: Equipment Operator (EO), Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO), Machine Operator, Operating Engineer, Back Hoe Operator, Engineering Equipment Operator, Forklift Operator, Hot Mix Asphalt Operator.

O*NET 47-2073.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $59,850; Middle half earn $48,680 to $77,170. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 82% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Learn and follow safety regulations.
Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.
Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.
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.
Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Monitoring3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.9 / 5
Speaking2.9 / 5
Critical Thinking2.9 / 5
Active Learning2.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mechanical3.6 / 5
English Language3.3 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.1 / 5
Mathematics2.8 / 5
Administration and Management2.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service2.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic100
Investigative32
Artistic0
Social2
Enterprising4
Conventional48

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

underground heavy equipment operator · DE Berg- und Maschinenmann/Berg- und Maschinenfrau · FR opérateur d’équipement lourd souterrain/opératrice d’équipement lourd souterrain
asphalt plant operator · DE Asphaltkocher/Asphaltkocherin · FR opérateur d’installation de préparation d’asphalte/opératrice d’installation de préparation d’asphalte
bulldozer operator · DE Erdbaumaschinenführer/Erdbaumaschinenführerin · FR conducteur de bulldozer/conductrice de bulldozer
surface mine plant operator · DE Abraumbaggerfahrer/Abraumbaggerfahrerin · FR conducteur d’engins d’exploitation minière et de carrière/conductrice d’engins d’exploitation minière et de carrière
excavator operator · DE Baggerführer/Baggerführerin · FR conducteur d’excavatrice/conductrice d’excavatrice
grader operator · DE Graderfahrer/Graderfahrerin · FR conducteur de niveleuse/conductrice de niveleuse

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Road construction operatives (8152)13,400 employed
Rail construction and maintenance operatives (8153)7,600 employed
Mobile machine drivers and operatives n.e.c. (8229)53,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “建設・さく井機械運転従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥326,400; Middle half earn ¥271,900 to ¥381,700 a month.
Workers in the category: 36,810; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Plant and machine operators and assemblers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€39,630
Netherlands	€37,567
Austria	€37,304
Sweden	€36,005
Germany	€34,433
Ireland	€32,617
France	€28,550
Italy	€28,330
Spain	€24,409
Portugal	€11,309
Poland	€10,259

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.88. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (47-2073).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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