How To Develop A Long Term Career As A Heavy Equipment Operator

The field of heavy equipment operations is huge and the range of equipment in use extremely varied. You have excavators that are small enough to be transported on a small trailer towed behind a family car. You also have excavators that are so large they need to be dismantled to be moved any great distance – there is no tractor-trailer big enough, or strong enough, to move them. So how do you develop a long term career as a heavy equipment operator?

A career is not just a job. It is a field of work where you are constantly learning, and where there are opportunities for advancement. Heavy equipment certainly fits that bill, especially when it comes to learning. But then, that is what lies at the very foundation of a successful career – your initial training. This is where many prospective operators go wrong, they underestimate the value of that basic training. If you learn the right skills to begin with, you have a solid base to build upon.

That is the second part of a successful career, building on your basic skills. Having completed a heavy equipment training program, graduates are ready for entry level employment. Remember that phrase – entry level employment. You are not going to be employed in a position that requires a lot of experience – you just don’t have it, yet. Entry level employment does not mean you are left to do the more menial tasks – you will still be challenged, and that is how you will build your experience. As you answer each challenge, your employer will automatically offer you more challenging roles. Over time, you will have developed those basic skills into an advanced set of skills and will be in a position to call yourself an experienced heavy equipment operator.

Are there opportunities for advancement? As with all careers, there is always some advancement available. You could be placed in charge of a team of operators working on a project; you may also find yourself in a role teaching others. There is also the opportunity of one day owning your own heavy equipment. Of course, that is taking a career and turning it into a business.