Anyone here operate construction equipment?

So the job thread mistakenly posted to the GRM section reminded me to post this. I've been thinking about operating construction equipment as a career. Right now what I know about this is how to operate a backhoe excavator, and nothing else, including the proper name for the job and possibly the backhoe. But I trained literally like a ninja prodigy (well ok, nobody hit me with bamboo training swords) for my current career and it hasn't paid off, and other people have seemingly stumbled into successful careers so why not give it a shot? Only thing I'm good with apart from computers is vehicles.

So if I wanted to get started what licensing do I need, how hard is it to get your foot in the door, what kind of hours do you normally work?

I'd be surprised if nobody on here does this.

My buddy started running dirt scrapers. Now he is a high end local 151 crane operator. $$$$$

We have a mutual friend that is still scrapping dirt. No work after 2-3 years now? Very saturated in the Chicago market.

Find your local union hall and they will probably point you the right way.

It cant be that hard.

I ran heavy equipment for probably 5 years. Backhoes, excavators, and cranes. There wasn't any licensing at the time. I just happened into it when one of the regular operators quit suddenly. All in all not a horrible job. Best bet is to contact a local heavy equipment company and see what they say.

does i gave up on the construction industry and got into the medical field say anything. and i did it for 11 yrs.. truck driver, equipment operator, laborer...

I work in a factory that builds big yellow wheel loaders. I can drive those. There is a little money to be had on this side of the equation.

Don't do it.

The market is completely glutted with guys who can handle heavy equipment. Expect hard work when you've got it, no work in between, no benefits, low pay, and no future.

I'm curious about what you posted in the other thread.

GameboyRMH said: Web dev, sysadmin and DB admin. Was always good with computers and programming since I was a kid, did most of an IT degree in college and now I work in the field. Considering doing something else now because the stuff you do in business (vs. messing around at home / in academia) is actually pretty boring, and around here the opportunities are slim and the pay even slimmer.

If you trained like a ninja prodigy, how does web development, system administration, and DB management leave you confined by the local economy?? Seems to me that you are intricately connected to the web, and you should be able to work essentially anywhere in the world via the internet.

How is driving a backhoe gonna be any better?

The term you're looking for is "Operating Engineer."

Guys, keep in mind that he is in Barbados, really another world. I don't think they have effective trade unions. I would suggest trying to network a way in, make contacts, knock on doors. Barbados is a prosperous island, construction is happening. Do you already have contacts in the industry?

I've found the work is more fun and much easier if you call it "destruction equipment" instead.

There are jobs if you're a good operator, and known as a good operator.

Unfortunately, as a rookie, you're neither of those things, which means you need to know someone who'll let you play on their $100k+ equipment.

Also, you say you know how to run a backhoe... what controls do you know? There's at two different control patterns in modern equipment (Cat and John Deere), and at least one more that's in older stuff (JBC). If you get into the really new stuff that uses fly-by-wire, you can change the controls to your liking, but you still need to know what you know, you know?

I know nothing of jobs in Barbados, but here in the states it really depends on where you are, construction overall is very low bad right now, with a few bright spots. The oil fields in Texas, Wyoming, North Dakota are hiring a ton of people, and I know they don't have enough good operators. Besides for large cranes, i don't know of any certifications.

Oh we have trade unions, how effective I'm not sure. I don't have any contacts in the industry. Construction does pay well around here right now though.

In response to SVreX's questions, I probably should have specified that I'm much more motivated to look at other work due to boredom than seeking better pay. My job is painfully boring, and as IT jobs go I know it could be a lot worse. In fact I'm glad my duties have expanded greatly since I started or I would have gone insane without the variety. I could get a similar job that pays better, but I'm curious about finding something I like to do while I'm still young and can afford the take the risk (not gung-ho on this construction thing, just curious).

This sort of work wasn't my first choice, it's something I started "just to get my foot in the door" and gain experience, but the interesting jobs in IT/CompSci are quite rare (basically nonexistent down here - I would honestly not be surprised if I was in one of the top 10 most interesting local IT jobs) and require lots of certification, and I blew my chance at affordably or easily getting a degree long ago.

I have terrible memorization skills so I struggle through a lot of courses (I did well in most of the compsci courses in university though), and as such I feel like going back to finish my degree - while I have a full-time job this time - is setting myself up to fail. It could be that I just have an irrational phobia of going back because my first time in was probably the worst period of my life.

I would have liked to go into software development, security research or robotics but I don't see that ever happening now. Thing is I still do all that stuff as a hobby (well not the robots yet, they're still pretty expensive).

A very good analogy is, it's like tinkering with bleeding-edge F1 tech in your garage as a hobby (in a topsy-turvy world where that's cheap, but follow along), and then you go to work and do routine maintenance on fleet vans where that skill and experience isn't terribly useful or applicable. But you can't get a job at Lotus or whatever because all that garage tinkering is worthless on a resume and you don't even have a basic engineering degree.

So, if I can stick to the computer stuff as a hobby and pay the bills doing something else that pays decently and I find enjoyable, that sounds like a win/win to me. I've gone well off-tangent from the construction idea but that's my motivation for looking at other lines of work.

ReverendDexter wrote: Also, you say you know how to run a backhoe... what controls do you know? There's at two different control patterns in modern equipment (Cat and John Deere), and at least one more that's in older stuff (JBC). If you get into the really new stuff that uses fly-by-wire, you can change the controls to your liking, but you still need to know what you know, you know?

JCB. Vehicle control is one thing I'm confident I'd do well in.

I think happiness is underrated in today's job market.

Everyone says "buy your time, eventually you'll accrue enough vacation and salary to make it worth your while." I think this statement is bullE36 M3. Fact is, for every 1 job that provides the personal satisfaction of the daily grind, there are 9 others that are boring as hell, provide no future development, and "benefit" you with 20 days PTO and a decent wage. To a man who wants a nice car, nice tv, nice house, 4 kids, and to keep up with the Jones, a decent salary and 20 days PTO is enough. But some of us want to live our lives.

Find an out. Someway of providing income if you were to leave your current job. Sit down with your supervisor, tell him you feel you could do the duties of your job in half the time. You don't want more pay, you don't want more hours, you want less hours, less salary, more flexibility. Propose the idea of per diem employment to your employer. If they like this deal, it gives you the ability to test waters in other fields. If they don't, bail.

Realize, however, that this all depend on your ability to have another job lined up.

Bump because it was an interesting thread.

Here in the States, probably the best opportunities will be in the oil areas. Some of those are not in the traditional areas, but in Ohio, Nebraska, etc. Fracking has opened a lot of new areas. Considering where you are, possibly a move to Trinidad? Lot's of construction and oil construction going on. They are opening up a new oil field now.

What about combing operating skills with technology, like GPS or mapping, or specific skills, like road building, landscaping, or rally-racing training facilities?

I really enjoy equipment operating. Just wouldn't want to break in right now.

Crane operators make very good money. It can be incredibly boring.

I had my first fairly serious incident a couple months ago. I was operating an articulating boom all-terrain forklift (a Lull). I've got 30+ years experience on one, but I was amazed how quickly things happened which elevated it to a pretty big problem.

I was moving 280 gallon totes full of liquid at a chemical plant. Pretty basic operation, but there were several variables that made it not too good. Working on a bias, a bit tired, controls that were wired backwards (not unusual, but my instincts reacted opposite when I got into a crisis). Bottom line- I dropped a tote and damaged another, creating 2 leaking totes and spilling about 150 gallons of liquid. It's a mistake anyone could have made.

Unfortunately, the material was a hazardous waste, and I spilled it on dirt on a grade. It ended up contaminating over 200 cubic yard of soil, which all had to be excavated and removed as hazardous waste. The cost was really big (6 figures, closing on 7).

At the time I was an employee of the company, and the responsibility fell on them and their insurance company. If I had had to pay it, or it had hit my insurance policy, I'd be financially ruined.

I'm not saying this to scare anyone off. Like I said, I enjoy the work. But we live in litigious times, and there are a great deal of regulations (OSHA, EPA, etc) that can have tremendous impact. If you are gonna do it, do it right. It is no longer worth taking the risk or the potential liability.

Regarding GPS, road building, Rally training facilities, etc- That's what engineers and general contractors do. There is no special market for equipment operators who do these things, unless they are licensed and insured as GC's, engineers, etc.

I've considered getting my certified crane operators license.....figure since I write manuals on RCI systems I'd have a leg up.

But the good guys get paid well because it's dangerous and lot o travel.

N Sperlo wrote: It cant be that hard.

That looks like a transport problem, not the fault of the yellow iron

Operating equipment is a great job. I have been doing it for years, although now I usually pay someone to play in the dirt for me. It pays quite well around here. The 20 year old son of a friend went in two years from a labourer to running 200's and bigger and he makes 29 dollars an hour. I started by buying my own equipment and learning on the job. I starved for a long time but eventually I figured it out.

The best thing I have always thought about excavating is that you leave your mark. I can go around my part of the world and see the results of my labour, and I will see them for years to come. I get a lot of personal satisfaction from that.