(BC) Construction, Heavy Equipment Operation Degree, Program Information at Butte College

A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to operate and maintain a variety of heavy equipment, such as a crawler tractors, motor graders and scrapers, shovels, rigging devices, hoists, and jacks. Includes instruction in digging, ditching, sloping, stripping, grading, and backfiling, clearing and excavating. Find Colleges Offering Construction, Heavy Equipment Operation Degree.

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Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Job Description
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways, or equipment used for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 64,255
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 70,056
- Percent Job Growth: 9.03%
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
Pile-Driver Operators
Job Description
Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures, such as buildings, bridges, and piers.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 5,584
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 6,049
- Percent Job Growth: 8.33%
Important Abilities
- Manual Dexterity
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Rate Control
- Reaction Time
- Depth Perception
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Job Description
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.
Salary and Wages
Chico, CA
- Total Employment: 150
- Average Annual Salary: $47,860
- Average Hourly Rate: $23.01
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 424,152
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 459,649
- Percent Job Growth: 8.37%
Important Abilities
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Near Vision
- Depth Perception
Highway Maintenance Workers
Job Description
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement, repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road or plow snow from roadway.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 145,216
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 158,140
- Percent Job Growth: 8.90%
Important Abilities
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Static Strength
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Job Description
Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and road bed tamping machine operators.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 14,635
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 15,334
- Percent Job Growth: 4.77%
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Manual Dexterity
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Reaction Time
- Depth Perception
Construction and Related Workers, All Other
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Job Description
Operate a variety of drills--such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic--to tap sub-surface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. May use explosives. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 21,681
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 23,099
- Percent Job Growth: 6.54%
Important Abilities
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Manual Dexterity
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Reaction Time
Continuous Mining Machine Operators
Job Description
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the face and load it onto conveyors or into shuttle cars in a continuous operation.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 10,043
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 10,504
- Percent Job Growth: 4.58%
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
- Selective Attention
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Rate Control
- Reaction Time
- Depth Perception
- Hearing Sensitivity
Mine Cutting and Channeling Machine Operators
Job Description
Operate machinery--such as longwall shears, plows, and cutting machines--to cut or channel along the face or seams of coal mines, stone quarries, or other mining surfaces to facilitate blasting, separating, or removing minerals or materials from mines or from the earth's surface.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 7,918
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 8,218
- Percent Job Growth: 3.78%
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Reaction Time
Mining Machine Operators, All Other
Extraction Workers, All Other
Riggers
Job Description
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
Crane and Tower Operators
Job Description
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 46,393
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 47,691
- Percent Job Growth: 2.80%
Important Abilities
- Manual Dexterity
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Rate Control
- Reaction Time
- Far Vision
- Depth Perception
Dredge Operators
Job Description
Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials from lakes, rivers, or streams; and to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 2,142
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 2,285
- Percent Job Growth: 6.66%
Important Abilities
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators
Job Description
Operate or tend machinery equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets, to excavate and load loose materials.
Salary and Wages
Chico, CA
- Total Employment: 40
- Average Annual Salary: $73,440
- Average Hourly Rate: $35.31
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 80,157
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 86,818
- Percent Job Growth: 8.31%
Important Abilities
- Spatial Orientation
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Manual Dexterity
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Response Orientation
- Rate Control
- Reaction Time
- Far Vision
- Depth Perception
Hoist and Winch Operators
Job Description
Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.
Projections
- Total Employment (2006): 3,017
- Total Employment Projected (2016): 2,980
- Percent Job Growth: -1.2%
Important Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Control Precision
- Reaction Time
- Depth Perception