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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
2034 Projected Employment
35,600
0% Change From 2024
Explore Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Measure and verify levels of rock or gravel, bases, or other excavated material.
- Lubricate, adjust, or repair machinery and replace parts, such as gears, bearings, or bucket teeth.
- Adjust dig face angles for varying overburden depths and set lengths.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
- Direct workers engaged in placing blocks or outriggers to prevent capsizing of machines when lifting heavy loads.
- Drive machines to work sites.
- Direct ground workers engaged in activities such as moving stakes or markers, or changing positions of towers.
- Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
- Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
- Perform manual labor to prepare or finish sites, such as shoveling materials by hand.
- Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
- 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.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
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")