ChooseField
Quick answer · Balanced priorities

Brickmasons and Blockmasons vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining: what changes?

Consider Brickmasons and Blockmasons if you want to lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions…. Consider Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining if you would rather operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Brickmasons and Blockmasons and Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Brickmasons and Blockmasons

National median pay (2025)
$62,120
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate
Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
4,100
Know before you choose

The usual entry route includes an apprenticeship. Interest in the subject is not a substitute for supervised, paid training.

See the full Brickmasons and Blockmasons brief

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

National median pay (2025)
$57,430
Route into the job
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
Prior related experience
Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing
More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
2,400
Know before you choose

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

See the full Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Brickmasons and Blockmasons has the edge on annual openings

Brickmasons and Blockmasons is at 4,100 annual openings, compared with 2,400 annual openings for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining.

2

Brickmasons and Blockmasons has the edge on median pay

Brickmasons and Blockmasons is at $62,120, compared with $57,430 for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining.

3

Brickmasons and Blockmasons has the edge on projected growth

Brickmasons and Blockmasons is at 1.1% projected growth, compared with 1% projected growth for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining.

50.5/ 100

Brickmasons and Blockmasons

vs
44.1/ 100

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Brickmasons and Blockmasons vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

DimensionBrickmasons and BlockmasonsExcavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Median pay (2025)$62,120$57,430
Pay percentile51.6 percentile42.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)1.1%1%
Annual openings (2025–2035)4,1002,400
2025 employment62,40034,700
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirementsHigh 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
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 2Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
On-the-job trainingApprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements.More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Brickmasons and Blockmasons briefRead Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining brief

Try another comparison

Brickmasons and Blockmasons vs Sheet Metal Workers

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Brickmasons and Blockmasons
$62,120 · 1.1% growth
Sheet Metal Workers
$61,800 · 2.5% growth
Compare careers →

Brickmasons and Blockmasons vs Carpenters

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Brickmasons and Blockmasons
$62,120 · 1.1% growth
Carpenters
$60,580 · 3.9% growth
Compare careers →

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining vs Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
$57,430 · 1% growth
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
$60,190 · 3.6% growth
Compare careers →
ChooseField compares fields using public labor-market and professional sources.