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Are you a new graduate, a veteran, or someone just looking for a new career path? If so, it is important to know what your day-to-day life will look like. If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, you are likely wondering what you will be doing every day in this career. While it varies depending on the industry you go into and the job you choose, there are some common daily activities to expect. So, what do heavy equipment operators do every day?
Heavy Equipment Operator Careers
First, you need to know your options when entering heavy equipment operations. There are a few common industries that you can enter, including construction, mining, and energy, as well as the option to go into heavy equipment or mobile crane operations.
As a heavy equipment operator, you will have the knowledge needed to operate many different types of equipment on construction, mining, and energy projects. These professionals can work as a skid steer, wheel loader, compactor, backhoe, or off-road dump truck operator.
Mobile crane operators also have the opportunity to join various industries, however, they are only trained to operate types of cranes. When focusing specifically on mobile cranes, we provide training on mobile hydraulic telescopic boom swing-cabs and telescopic boom fixed-cab cranes.
What Do Heavy Equipment Operators Do in Construction?
With the increased need for new housing, infrastructure repairs and additions, commercial projects, and renovations on various buildings, construction workers and heavy equipment operators are in high demand. As a heavy equipment operator in the construction industry, your day-to-day responsibilities will largely be related to moving heavy materials. This includes moving building supplies, soil, and earth.
In your work, you will be responsible for repairing or building various projects, such as roads, bridges, homes, aircraft runways, dams, commercial buildings, and more. Each project is different and the exact demands of heavy equipment operators and crane operators may change from project to project.
What Do Heavy Equipment Operators Do in Mining?
In the mining industry, heavy equipment operators are critical to getting the job done safely and efficiently. You will be responsible for facilitating the extraction of raw materials and the restoration of mines at the end of their economic life. The daily activities of heavy equipment operators who work in mining include using bulldozers, front-end loaders, and dump trucks to move materials, perform excavating and grading, and loading or unloading trucks.
What Do Heavy Equipment Operators Do in Energy?
The energy industry is critical to everyone in the world, meaning the industry will always be in demand, especially with the growth of sustainable energy initiatives. Individuals have the option to work in oil, gas, mining, or green energy.
On the job, heavy equipment operators are responsible for operating and maintaining the the large machinery used on-site, including graders, scrapers, compactors, tractors, bulldozers, front-end loaders, and more. In a typical day, you will operate one of these large machines in order to move earth, build access roads, bridges, pipelines, and tunnels. Additionally, you will assist with the construction of sustainable energy initiatives such as windmills and solar panels.
How to Become a Heavy Equipment Operator
If the day to day of what heavy equipment operators do interests you, you’ll need to know how to break into the field. In order to start, you will need to sign up for heavy equipment or mobile crane operator courses. This training will combine in-the-seat training and classroom instruction so you have all of the information and the skills needed to be successful in the field.
To learn more about the process of becoming a heavy equipment operator or a mobile crane operator, check out our blogs:
Interested in Becoming a Heavy Equipment Operator? Turn to PTS
At PTS, we offer courses in both heavy equipment operating and mobile crane operating that last just a few weeks and are a fraction of the cost of a college education. We work with you to get you into a job quickly, providing you with the necessary in-the-seat skills and the classroom knowledge you need to be successful. Our career assistance program also provides you with soft skills training and resources to help you land a job.
Get started today by scheduling a tour of our training facilities and get $500 off of your tuition!