Are there any heavy equipment operators in the house?

[Droopy]

I'm looking to make a career change and I've been checking out heavy equipment operating. From what I can gather I wouldn't have to take a pay cut to do it. I also already possess a Class 'A' CDL so I can probably get the training that I need a lot cheaper and maybe faster than most folks.

I want to know all about the job. How stressful is it? What are some of the pitfalls to heavy equipment operating? Can you find work in the winter? Do heavy equipment companies offer health care benefits? That one is very important to me because I have a chronic mental health problem. It wouldn't keep me from doing the job. I am in treatment and my symptoms are under control. What kind of hours do you work? What is a typical starting wage for someone just getting into the industry?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[BlueCollar]

1. Not an OE personally but

I know that the work is pretty good and stable. Most of it is in the construction business but there is a lot of other type work that requires their skills. My advice would be to visit the Intl. Union of Operating Engineers and work from there.

My local Central Labor Council had an OE affiliated and they had an apprentice program. Once an individual completed the apprenticeship they did pretty well. Operating the equipment these folks do is dangerous and requires skill and attention-to-detail, but very worth it. Hope this helps.

http://www.iuoe.org/

[Droopy]

2. I appreciate the link and the info, BlueCollar

:thumbsup:

[Monk06]

3. Grader operator is a good trade. My BIL did it for years. He was a finish

grader op for highway projects. That's the top
of the trade. Finish graders are hard to find and
well paid. It's demanding work. My BIL could grade
sand until he could just make out the orange paint on the
surveyors stakes.

Lots of work in winter and summer on highway and
logging road maintenance.

[krispos42]

4. My dad's a union operating engineer

and has been for about 30 years now.

The hours are variable depending on the contract. He usually works early morning to early afternoon, but he's also done 2nd and 3rd shifts, especially when working on highways.

There is often overtime, because it seems that once they decided to build something, they're in a godawful hurry to get it done.

Pay depends on the wage scale for the job. My dad makes between 25 and 45 an hour. Right now he's running a construction elevator on an office building for $25/hr. He also has a pension. I believe is $90 per month for every year in the union. And health benefits, including vision and dental.

He's had a lot of training, including HazMat certification, and is licensed to operate most anything.



The downside is that it's a hard, dirty job. You start off doing grunt work, lots of lifting heavy objects. And even as a machine operator there's a lot of heavy, dirty work to do. You'll come home muddy, greasy, and covered with concrete. And you have to work outside in all kinds of weather.

It's hard on the body. It's the kind of job that slowly uses you up physically over the years.

[wain]

6. $50,000 a year to run an elevator??

and my dad retired as a Phd chemist at $37,000? WTF

[Blue Diadem]

7. Here's a link to a pic of a construction elevator

http://flickr.com/photos/ryno/2300188367/

Don't begrudge the money these workers make. It's dangerous dirty cold/hot/wet difficult work and there are accidents that maim and kill people.

edited to change guys to workers. More women are going into these trades now.

[krispos42]

9. Well, it's a construction elevator

One of those big ol' temporary affairs they run up and down the sides of office buildings. He's not just hauling up office drones; all the supplies and equipment have to go up there.

And he worked 63 hours last week. Poor guy, he's soooooo looking forward to retirement.


I, on the other hand, worked a paltry 32 hours last week. I'd LOVE some overtime!!!

[Blue Diadem]

5. My son is an OE, crane operator now.

Here's the link to the OE's for Dayton

http://www.iuoelocal18.org/DistrictOffices.htm

Looks like Dayton is in district 4.

With the OE's, you are called for a job according to where your number is in the deck of unemployed workers and according to what machines you can operate and what counties in your district you are willing to travel to. Many of the guys, once they complete the apprenticeship, can be called directly by working with certain companies who wish to call them back for various jobs. In other words, make good friends with those who you are working for. After finishing the apprentice program, you can still go learn new machines and become certified for them at no cost at the training centers. The more machines you are certified on, the more chances you have of being called for various jobs.

My son's not working right now, hasn't had much work all year but our area is very slow with projects right now and he doesn't like to travel since he's newly married. He does make really good money when he works, but it's usually very long hours and a lot of overtime. His last job was 7 days a week, 13 or 14 hour days until the job is done. He usually works the refinery shutdowns in our area and from what I've heard, some of the work was postponed this year. He recently spoke to a friend who was going out of state to see if there was work there. His friend told him he couldn't find work in a 500 mile radius from our area right now. Winter can be a rough time to get jobs around here. As my son says, it's a matter of budgeting well and saving what you make when you work to get you through the slow times.

[Blue Diadem]

8. I wanted to add something to the above post.

When I spoke about training at the training facility without charge, that is true. BUT, I do believe there are certain charges for final testing to get certified depending on the equipment. I know my son had to pay a fee when he took the crane operator test.

Good luck Droopy.