Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Also Called:

Dragline Oiler,

Dragline Operator,

Heavy Equipment Operator,

Loader Operator

What they do: Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.

Construction, Energy & Natural Resources icon

Construction, Energy & Natural Resources

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • 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.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Cautiousness

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Realistic

See Related Jobs

Conventional

See Related Jobs

Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Controlled Movement

  • Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat

  • Use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

Spatial

  • Know where things are around you

  • Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed

Vision

  • Decide which thing is closer or farther away from you or decide how far away it is from you

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

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

  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things

Problem Solving

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

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop