Drive and control heavy machines such as cranes, bulldozers, and excavators to move earth, materials, and structures.
You may also see this posted as: Equipment Operator (EO), Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO), Machine Operator, Operating Engineer, Back Hoe Operator, Engineering Equipment Operator.
Construction sites, roads, and mines; outdoors in all weather and dust.
Full-time; early starts, long days, and seasonal work are common.
Realistic
working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world
Conventional
organizing information, following systems, and getting details right
Investigative
solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work
O*NET job zone 2 of 5
Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
BLS estimates 2.5% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: Paid apprenticeship or on-the-job.
Related work experience: None.
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.
A commercial driver's license is often needed; crane operators usually require certification.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
Cranes and excavators — certifications stack the pay up.
Run the Reality Check — build the life you want and see the salary it takes, then compare it to this one.
Browse verified internships, fellowships, and programs — many paid — that lead into fields like this.
Free resume templates, interview practice, and getting-hired guides in the Careers kit.
Standard Occupational Classification 47-2073. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.