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Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
Also Known As:
Backhoe Operator
Dragline Oiler
Dragline Operator
Equipment Operator
Excavator Operator
Heavy Equipment Operator
Loader Operator
Pit Operator
Track Hoe Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
34,100
-1% Change From 2023
Explore Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
- Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
- Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse.
- Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, or other excavated material.
- Drive machines to work sites.
- Perform manual labor to prepare or finish sites, such as shoveling materials by hand.
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
- Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, or other excavated material.
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
- Direct workers engaged in placing blocks or outriggers to prevent capsizing of machines when lifting heavy loads.
- Lubricate, adjust, or repair machinery and replace parts, such as gears, bearings, or bucket teeth.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
- Adjust dig face angles for varying overburden depths and set lengths.
- Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
- Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
- Handle slides, mud, or pit cleanings or maintenance.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- 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.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- 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.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- 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.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- 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.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
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")