According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), more than half of the heavy equipment operators nationwide work in the construction industry. Bulldozers and trench excavators are in regular use as building crews prepare building sites for the laying of the foundation and the building that will follow. They dig trenches for sewer lines or swimming pools and use heavy equipment like cranes to lift materials to the high points of the work site.
The qualifications for operating heavy equipment in the construction industry are earned by working in the industry and receiving on-the-job training. This is not a field that requires a college degree, but it does involve a high level of technical training that can only be gained in the workplace. According to the BLS, as of 2008, heavy equipment operators in the construction industry have a median income of $21 per hour.
Highway projects in Pennsylvania provide a major source of work for heavy equipment operators. The jobs often cause workers to travel a long distance from home to get to the job site, and require working night shifts to avoid peak travel times. Highway workers operate bulldozers, cement trucks, pavers and graders when building and repairing roads or building runways, and also work with cranes and other heavy equipment when working on bridge construction.
Highway workers are also typically high school graduates who began as apprentice-level workers in heavy equipment operation and worked their way up through the ranks. According to the BLS, as of 2008, highway workers have a median income somewhere between $16 and $20 per hour, with the workers based in the major metropolitan areas typically earning at the higher end of the pay scale.
Prior to the start of many construction projects, there is demolition work to be done. Operators using heavy equipment come in to knock down existing structures to clear the way for new construction. The first step in the building process following excavation involves the operation of pile drivers, heavy equipment that is used to drive wood or steel beams deep into the ground to support the foundation and outer walls of buildings, or pillars to support structures like mines, wells or bridges.
Like the other areas that involve the operation of heavy equipment, pile driver operators usually begin their careers operating smaller equipment to get the necessary experience to move up to the bigger jobs, and then learn the business through apprenticeships or on-the-job training. According to the BLS, pile driver operators are among the highest-paid heavy equipment workers as of 2008. The median pay rate was $23 per hour.