Heavy Equipment operator?

[punkncat]

Anyone here do this?

I have been looking into a new field of employ. One of my good friends has a hook up with a couple of fellows who own grading companies and are always looking for equipment operators.

I know nothing about this, have never done it. They know this and are more concerned about finding someone intelligent and reliable. One out of two isn't bad so I am looking into a possible position with them.

[Eagle]

As someone who worked with crane operators in the Navy and in my current job (electrician) I can tell you that crane operators make serious bank. general heavy equipment operators I don't know much about.

[Piranti]

The ones that know how to use the equipment, are reliable, you can definately make some serious money doing it. Though Mistakes can be rather costly, espescially if you dig up a power, gas, or water line. There is always a high demand for them though, and plenty of jobs to do. Depending on your climate, downtime may be a factor also what type of equipment and type of work.

In Hampton roads I used to do backhoe and grading, and I jsut could not take the time off for rain ( we got alot that year, and I wasn't paid enough really for what I was doing, damned stingy bosses). But we never had enough time for all the work we could do.

Also if get into it like longshoreman or other Unionized areas you can really rake in the cash. Heard of some operators of cranes and even just forkloaders and larger dozers making near 50-60 an hour.

[Army]

My old boss retired to company in Nevada that runs heavy equipment to destruction...on purpose. Runs around a "track" which puts on 10 years of abuse in a week. Gets paid large dollars to break half-million dollar vehicles!

[BobTheCow]

My old boss retired to company in Nevada that runs heavy equipment to destruction...on purpose. Runs around a "track" which puts on 10 years of abuse in a week. Gets paid large dollars to break half-million dollar vehicles!

Hahaha, that sounds pretty damn cool. Out of curiosity, do you happen to know what purpose that serves? Is it just to test the durability of new machines?

[Bear_Claw]

Pretty mutch my etire family is heavy equip operators. Im the first to actually not go into equipment operating (although i have got the training on most equipment).

My dads used to run a crane (now he took a desk job)
and my grandfather was a crane operator for 40 years. he was one of the head operators putting the steeel up for the sky dome (rogers center) in toronto.

All in all its a good trade that will earn you enuff to live relitivly comfortable. youll never get ritch out of it but if you smart with money you can do just fine. IF you live were it snows it ca get ruff in the winter lay offs but even living in ontario wigh about a 4 month lay off season my family never went hungry.

[skife]

I ran a Caterpillar 950G wheeled front end loader for about 3 months working at a redi-mix plant.

My dad has run equipment for the past 20+ years.

makes about $17 an hour i think.

i made $12 an hour. Big money for a kid being 19 years old

[flyboy]

My father in law is a retired heavy equipment mechanic. He still goes to the shop to do some things. From talking to him over the years, operators here in NC make 15 to 30 an hour running dozers, pans and drag lines. Depending on who you work for, you may have to drive a long way to a job site and of course they change. I know guys that work for bridge building firms that travel all over the country living for 3 to 6 months at a time where the work is being done. They make some serious coin but it's hard work.

And had been stated, when it rains/snows you don't work so no pay.

[p8ntbal4me]

Im a heavy equipment operator in NH.

Im guessing your talking about dirt work type operating.

The guy that says hes a crane operator,... I dont know about anywhere else but in NH crane pays big bucks. The problem with cracking the job is you need to earn the trust of your riggers. (guys that work with Steel)

They dont trust you and you cant keep them happy = u dont have a job.

If your looking to do dirt work there are 3 types of operators (IMO)

Operators that do bulk work (site prep, massive dirt moving)
Operators that do pipe work (all sewer, elect., water, drainage)
Operators that do finish work (loaming, fine grade work, as-built jobs)

Bulk work usually involves machines like Articulated haulers (rock trucks), large excavators (tracked), larger push-type crawlers (Cat D8 dozer). This is the kind of work where the machines are large and in place for a while. Site prep. before foundation work is done. Subgrade is achived. I personally enjoy this for a break every once in a while. I prefer the Cat 385 excavator if I have to load more than 9 rock trucks in a round. Something in a 330C class is more big and fast for my taste.

Pipe work is everything under the ground. You work as an operator (usually in an excavator) with a pipe foreman and some laborers or a pipe crew. Its involves OSHA safe trenches, working with trench boxes, knowlege of code enforced/job site spec installations of the type of product you are installing in the ground. You also could be in a front end loader. The "loader man" is a key operator on the job site when a pipe crew is present. He is the one that runs to get the correct structure that needs to be placed at the end of the pipe run. If the excavator operator is using a stone box, the loader man needs to keep it full so everytime the excavator swings around, hes not waiting for stone because his stone box is empty. Hes also in charge of keeping count of product moved and laoding site trucks if they are required to haul material out of stock piles. Most operators start in a loader and work their way into an excavator, depending on skill and job performance.

Finish work is the crem-dala-crem of the operator world. Most operators can move big amounts of anything,.. its the small details that truely define your skill in your machine. There is skill in bulk dirt work,.. dont get me wrong. A skilled operator in a big machine can cut fuel costs and time per swing in half if hes smart about his work.
But when you get into finish work, you have to know what you are doing more than the next guy. I run a rubber tired excavator. My machine is the same as a regular excavator but with 4 wheels. Which allows me to dig on the pavement without causing massive damage to the finish work already completed. I also run a grader,.. which IMHO is the top operator spot to be in. Finish grading is not for everyone, its alot of detail, years of experience, and alot of job quality is relying on your work. If you were to screw up a parking lot with drainage catch basins,.. say you miss the edge of the basin by a foot,.. that means that there will be a 2 foot wide puddle around the basin instead of it just going where it needs to go. There are many degrees of finish work, and many machines to do it with,... but usually operators tend to stay clear of finish work due to the size of the machines being smaller and the work being more indepth.

With all that said,.. anyone can rent a Bobcat and say they can run it. But any operator can see the difference in a "weekend operator" and someone that can grasp what works and what doesnt. Not knocking your idea for a career change or anything,.. but here is a way to learn and not get fired. Go apply for a possision if you really want to. Make sure that when it asks you if you have prior knowlege you say NO! If you get an interview, and they ask you if you have ever run a machine before,... you say NO. DO NOT SAY,... "well I rented/borrowed a little skid-loader, my brothers Cub-Cadet and that has a back-hoe on the bck,.... etc" You basically told them what they already knew on paper, and that you have no idea what your getting into. Stick to the basics,.. you have your heart set on a large excavator,... start in a loader. You can learn more from the cab of another machine how each of the differnent machines do their work and how other machine operators make their "money" in running a machine they know well.

Last resort,.. and this is a road no one likes,... be a laborer. Get on a pipe crew, learn the ropes, ask questions,... dont say you can do something you know you cant. If you laboring and you think you can do it better than the guy running the machine,.. thats good! But think it,.. dont speak it. Foreman and crew that have been in the company know echother and work together to get the job done no matter what they think about eachothers skill. I know I can run a finish dozer,.. Im very good at it. When my foreman tells me he can run a dozer and I see him do it,.. I know just by his work and my own that Im better. But not saying it and just doing it moves you along faster in a company since people see your work and know that on the day the dozer guy is sick and no one is there to run it,.. maybe thats your day to get your shot!

Its not hard work,.. but you need to be smart about it. Its far more than just pulling levers. I know I cant do crane work because I do not have the pacients for it. Guys that do,.. well,.. I just dont get how they do it. Find what works for you and try it out,.... once you get your foot in the cab,... give it a week or 2 and you may be made for the job!