Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 67% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +1.0% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $57,430
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.0%
- Openings a year
- 2,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 34,700
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
- Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate construction or excavation equipment
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
- Signal others to coordinate work activities
What the work looks like
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
- Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
- Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the industry adopts semi-autonomous construction equipment.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Roustabouts, oil and gasHuman edge, growing, Index 95, +3.6%
- GlaziersHuman edge, steady, Index 69, +1.9%
- Highway maintenance workersHuman edge, steady, Index 84, +3.4%
- Floor sanders and finishersHuman edge, steady, Index 73, +1.4%
Also known as: Dragline Oiler, Dragline Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Backhoe Operator, Equipment Operator, Excavator Operator, Pit Operator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.