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Date: 07/22/2026

Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Learn and follow safety regulations.
    • Operate tractors or bulldozers to perform such tasks as clearing land, mixing sludge, trimming backfills, or building roadways or parking lots.
    • Signal operators to guide movement of tractor-drawn machines.
    • Drive tractor-trailer trucks to move equipment from site to site.
    • Start engines, move throttles, switches, or levers, or depress pedals to operate machines, such as bulldozers, trench excavators, road graders, or backhoes.
    • Take actions to avoid potential hazards or obstructions, such as utility lines, other equipment, other workers, or falling objects.
    • Operate equipment to demolish or remove debris or to remove snow from streets, roads, or parking lots.
    • Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
    • Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
    • Operate road watering, oiling, or rolling equipment, or street sealing equipment, such as chip spreaders.
    • Coordinate machine actions with other activities, positioning or moving loads in response to hand or audio signals from crew members.
    • Monitor operations to ensure that health and safety standards are met.
    • Check fuel supplies at sites to ensure adequate availability.
    • Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps.
    • Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
    • Drive and maneuver equipment equipped with blades in successive passes over working areas to remove topsoil, vegetation, or rocks or to distribute and level earth or terrain.
    • Align machines, cutterheads, or depth gauge makers with reference stakes and guidelines or ground or position equipment, following hand signals of other workers.
    • Connect hydraulic hoses, belts, mechanical linkages, or power takeoff shafts to tractors.
    • Adjust handwheels and depress pedals to control attachments, such as blades, buckets, scrapers, or swing booms.
    • Test atmosphere for adequate oxygen or explosive conditions when working in confined spaces.
    • Load and move dirt, rocks, equipment, or other materials, using trucks, crawler tractors, power cranes, shovels, graders, or related equipment.
    • Locate underground services, such as pipes or wires, prior to beginning work.
    • Repair and maintain equipment, making emergency adjustments or assisting with major repairs as necessary.
    • Operate loaders to pull out stumps, rip asphalt or concrete, rough-grade properties, bury refuse, or perform general cleanup.
    • Push other equipment when extra traction or assistance is required.
    • Select and fasten bulldozer blades or other attachments to tractors, using hitches.
    • Talk to clients and study instructions, plans, or diagrams to establish work requirements.
    • Keep records of material or equipment usage or problems encountered.
    • Operate compactors, scrapers, or rollers to level, compact, or cover refuse at disposal grounds.

    Skills

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    3
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    Knowledge

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • 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.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • 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.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • 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.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 64940/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 31.22/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 14,100
    • Yearly Projected Openings 1200

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Cautiousness
    • Dependability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance
    • Integrity

    Tools

    Technology

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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