How To Protect A Heavy Equipment Career From Market Slumps

Every sector of the market goes through a process of peaks and troughs. Sometimes the economy is booming and there is a high demand for workers. At other times, as we have seen in the recent past, there is a slump in the economy and work can be hard to find. Of course, there are often times when one sector of the market appears to buck the trend with demand for workers remaining high despite a market slump. Unfortunately, there are many workers who are not in a position to protect themselves from market slumps – they end up on merry-go-round swinging from plenty of work to no work at all. Heavy equipment operators are not immune from these market swings, although it is interesting to note that demand has remained high over the last couple of years.

Heavy equipment operators can protect themselves from these market (and sometimes seasonal) swings. The easiest way is to simply diversify your talents. Rather than being a master of one type of equipment with a little bit of knowledge of others, become a master of as many different types of equipment as possible. It is also advisable to add truck driving skills (and a commercial drivers license) to your skills list. Other equipment operating skills that could be worth considering include crane operations (particularly mobile cranes) and fork lift trucks.

No sector of the economy is ever totally immune to peaks and troughs. Heavy equipment operator careers can be frustrating at times for those who do specialize in just one type of equipment. The market is fickle and you could find that this month, bulldozers are in high demand, yet next month, no one wants to know a bulldozer operator – the need is on grader operators, or loader operators.

For those just starting out in this industry, start to protect your future from day one of your heavy equipment operator training. If it’s at all possible, gain some knowledge and experience on a range of heavy equipment. When you enter the workplace, aim for a position with an employer that uses a wide range of heavy equipment, and let it be known you want to gain experience on as many different types of equipment as possible. Employers will show a preference for you in the future since you can be moved from equipment to equipment as needed. Protect your heavy equipment from market slumps by diversifying your skills – you’ll hardly ever be out of work then.