Construction and Trades · Career brief

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Is it a good career to pursue?

The 30-second read

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining at a glance

Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.

1Pay

$57,430

Middle-of-the-pack pay

2025 national median. Near the middle of ChooseField careers for pay.

2Demand

Slow projected growth

Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Below the middle of ChooseField careers for growth.

3Openings

2,400

Relatively fewer openings

Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Below the middle of ChooseField careers for openings.

4Route in

High school

A four-year degree is not the typical entry route

High school diploma or equivalent + related experience. Related work experience is typically required.

5The work

Hands-on

Practical work with tools, systems, or physical environments

Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.

6The catch

Know this first

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

ChooseField take

The national benchmarks are mixed, so the work itself and the route in matter more than any standout pay or demand signal. It makes the most sense if hands-on work appeals to you and you are comfortable with a high-school entry path. Main tradeoff: BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

Before choosing, compare:Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Brickmasons and Blockmasons Sheet Metal Workers

National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.

Compare Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining with another field Explore rankings in Construction and Trades Open shareable infographic

Want the evidence behind the snapshot?

Market and path

Pay, outlook, and the route in

National median pay (2025)

$57,430

A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.

2025–2035 outlook

1%employment growth2,400openings per year

Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.

Typical entry route

High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing

BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.

2025 employment

34,700

Estimated workers in this occupation across the United States.

Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining (47-5022).

Actual responsibilities

What you would be trusted to own

Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.

Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.

Decision-changing realities

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.
The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.
Hands-on manipulation of tools, controls, or objects occupies a meaningful part of the workday.

Work profile

What the work emphasizes

O*NET importance scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.6
Controlling Machines and Processes4.4
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
Handling and Moving Objects4.2
Getting Information4.1

Interest profile

Career interests

O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.

Realistic7.0
Conventional3.6
Investigative2.4
Artistic1.0
Enterprising1.0
Social1.0

Preparation

What the training must make you competent at

Subject matter

Mechanical Building and Construction Public Safety and Security Mathematics

Before choosing the major or training

Run a cheaper test first

Take a supervised shop, maker, or trade class and finish one project while following its measurement, cleanup, and safety rules.
Ask someone doing this job which feeder role built the required experience, what that earlier job paid, and how long the transition actually took.

The fuller career guide

How the evidence fits together

Pay and demand: reading the benchmark

The pay and outlook figures describe Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining nationally. They do not establish the salary or number of vacancies available in your area.

Median pay is the middle wage across workers, not a starting offer. Projected openings include replacements as well as growth; neither measure predicts an individual worker's job security.

Before choosing a program

O*NET lists Monitoring, Active Learning, Active Listening among this occupation's skills. Ask a program to show the assignments, supervised practice, and assessment that develop these skills. Compare those examples with local job descriptions.

Common questions

Questions people ask about this career

Can I enter this occupation without related work experience?

Prior related experience: less than 5 years. Look for the preceding roles and promotion route before treating this as a first job.

What should I check before paying for training?

Get the full prerequisite and completion timeline, total cost, placement arrangements, and any licensing eligibility in writing. Ask local employers whether they hire graduates from the route you are considering and whether paid training is available.

Adjacent options

Compare before committing

The useful question is not whether one field wins overall, but what changes when you choose a nearby path. Explore the full career guides for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas, Brickmasons and Blockmasons, Sheet Metal Workers, Glaziers.