Women have been in heavy equipment for a long time, particularly when it comes to working on the land, in landscaping, and in family earth moving businesses. They have also been involved in careers such as truck driving, careers that have long been considered male bastions. Modern bulldozers, although large heavy machines, are no different to driving a car once you gain the required skills. Funnily enough, it is the general public that consider these careers to be male bastions. Employers and coworkers think nothing of working alongside a woman in most of these areas.

The only thing holding a woman back from working as a heavy equipment operator is the woman herself. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have been training women in these skills for many years, and they have moved on to very successful careers. Bulldozers have been a popular choice for women, probably more so than most other forms of heavy equipment.

Training to become a bulldozer operator can be completed in as little as three weeks. In fact, one of the benefits of a career as a heavy equipment operator is that it is age, gender and background neutral. Being skills based, the training focus is on learning how to operate the equipment. That is not to say there is no classroom-based training; safety, for example, is an important part of any heavy equipment training and some of this training needs to be theoretical.

Careers in the heavy equipment environment have become open in recent years with emphasis more on one’s ability to do the job rather than gender (or age for that matter). If you’re interested in become a bulldozer operator, or an operator of any form of heavy equipment, whether your male of female, young or old, or from any background, contact ATS for details on our heavy equipment training programs. There could be a whole new career just waiting for you.

If you like variety in your career then backhoes are the answer when it comes to careers in heavy equipment. Loaders, while doing a range of jobs, really rely on the one instrument, a shovel. Excavators, while having a range of attachments that make the job more interesting, rely on a bucket. Bulldozer and graders rely on blades to get a job done. Backhoes, on the other hand, are multi-function machines.

For starters, backhoes have a bucket at one end and a shovel at the other so they perform the roles of both a loader and an excavator. Like an excavator, the backhoe also has a wide range of attachments that can perform a variety of tasks. Gaining backhoe skills also sets up an operator with the option of operating loaders or excavators as well should the need (or demand) arise.

In today’s workplace, being able to operate a range of equipment makes you a valuable addition to any workplace. Backhoes provide that career option. You could find yourself working on a housing project this week, a road building project next week, and a demotion project the following week. And that is just a taste of the types of work available.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools makes the task a little easier for you as well. Our heavy equipment training programs cover a range of equipment including loader, excavators and backhoes along with the traditional bulldozers and graders. If you’re looking for a career that has variety then consider a career as a heavy equipment operator, particularly a backhoe operator.

If you’re looking to get a start in the heavy equipment industry then loaders can be your best option. They form the backbone of most construction sites because of their versatility and their ability to often get into tight spots. Loaders are used in a wide range of industries ranging from agriculture through to manufacturing. Construction is the major user, either on road building projects, land clearing projects or building projects.

The loader’s main role is the movement of earth. Whether it is moving loads of earth from one place to another or loading the trucks, the principles in use are the same. Loaders are also used to carry heavy objects in areas where fork lift trucks and manual lifting is not possible. You will often see loaders carrying machinery and pipes around a construction site.

One of the important roles of a loader is the cleaning up that occurs once a construction project nears completion. Loaders can scrape the ground pushing debris into piles, then load those piles into waiting trucks. Smaller versions have been built that perform a similar role in tight spaces such as around new homes. They have also become extremely popular with landscape gardeners.

Because of their ease of use, they make a perfect vehicle for those wanting to enter the heavy equipment field of employment. Training for loaders is generally undertaken as part of a wider heavy equipment training program. This is ideal for newcomers to the industry as it provides training on a range of heavy equipment types.

You may gain a start in the industry operating a loader, but through your training you can move onto graders, bulldozers, excavators or backhoes. Loaders – they really are the backbone of most construction sites, and that’s from start to finish.

Do you need a history of heavy equipment operations to become a qualified crane operator? As a matter of fact – no. You can come from any walk of life and undertake a crane operator training course. To a certain extent, students that undertake training with no prior experience in heavy equipment can be easier to train. To begin with, there are no bad habits to erase. Of course, prior knowledge of the equipment can make life easier for the student since they are not being confronted with completely new terminology.

In short, however, as stated, anyone from any walk of life can undertake training to become a crane operator. Your success really is going to be measured by the commitment you give to the training course along with the skills and commitment that a crane operator trainer gives to you. Women have successfully made the transition from home duties to crane operations, middle aged former office workers have made the transition as have college students that found academic life not to their liking.

ATS Crane Operator Schools works on the principle of training students to work readiness. This means incorporating both in the cab, around the equipment and in the class room activities. The main emphasis of course is hands on in-the-cab operations – the more supervised practice you can acquire, the more skilled you will become. Having a rounded training program that includes operations, basic maintenance and safety components readies a student for the work place.

If you have never been near heavy equipment before, don’t let that stop you from becoming a crane operator. The most important skill or attribute that you can bring to any training program is an open mind and readiness to learn. If you have that then you’re ready to take on crane operator training.

When it comes to starting a new career, trust is one of the most important influences in the decision making process. Heavy equipment careers are no different. Those considering a career change have to trust in themselves and their abilities to take on and cope with a career change; trust in the marketplace and its ability to support them; and trust in the training they require to make the transition. Let’s analyze each of those individually.

Trust In One’s Own Abilities

Career changes can be scary. They can also be spur of the moment decisions where an individual faces a moment of dissatisfaction with their current career. Doubt is actually a good trait to have in these situations since it brings with it caution. A career as a heavy equipment operator can be a huge step for some, often taking them from safe and secure desk jobs to the wide outdoors. If you have any doubts as to whether or not a heavy equipment career is right for you, take the easy path. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools offers a free online heavy equipment training program that you can access from home. Once you have completed that training program, you will have a much better indication as to whether or not a career as a heavy equipment operator is right for you.

Trust In The Heavy Equipment Industry

Let me start by stating that no industry is safe from the turmoil of world and national economics and that any career change is going to be a gamble. Your current career could boom over the next ten years, or crash and burn. Likewise, heavy equipment requirements could boom, or it could also crash. No one knows. However, what has been evident over the years is that construction is the one area in industry that always leads the nation to recovery. We can see that with the current economic climate where billions of dollars have been thrown at infrastructure. This has created a large demand for heavy equipment and heavy equipment operators. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools incorporates a careers services department that has one aim, to help every graduate find employment. You can at least gain a start in the industry once you complete your training.

Trust In A Heavy Equipment Training Organization

Now we come to crux of any career change. You’re ready, you’re convinced the industry can sustain a long career, so where do you go to get your training? ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools is one of the nation’s oldest training schools with campuses spread around the nation. Heavy equipment training programs commence on a regular basis with training based on national standards. With strong industry recognition, anyone considering a career as a heavy equipment operator need look no further.

The bottom line is fairly straightforward. The market for heavy equipment operators is strong and there are very competent heavy equipment training organizations available. So, are you ready to consider a change in careers? If you are, a heavy equipment career is yours for the asking – so ask.

Excavators are one of the core vehicles that most heavy equipment training programs cover. There is a reason for this. Many of the skills, terms used and processes extend across the complete range of heavy equipment. By learning these components, you will have the beginnings of a solid foundation in heavy equipment operations.

For most people, an excavator is nothing more than a trench digger. This may well be a major component of an excavator operator’s working life, but it is certainly not the only component. Excavators are also used in material handling, demolition, general grading and landscaping, heavy lifting (for example, the lifting and placing of pipes), river dredging and mining, just to name a few. When it comes to trenches, the skills required go far beyond just digging a hole (or trench). Excavator operators need a rounded knowledge of how to dig, service and back fill a trench; how to load material onto trucks; and related skills such as benching and sloping.

So, while an excavator may be used primarily for digging trenches, those skills can be transferred to other vehicles. For example, the principles of demolition, general grading and landscaping can be applied to most heavy equipment. Skills such as backfilling, benching and sloping can also be applied to most heavy equipment vehicles used in construction.

If you are interested in finding out more about excavators, their role in construction, and how to become an excavator operator, contact the nation’s leading supplier of well trained heavy equipment operators. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools operate training schools in a number of locations around the nation with heavy equipment training programs commencing on a regular basis. Excavator operators are well paid compared to many other careers and the opportunities are there for new operators to join the workforce.

There are always two ways to get things done – the easy way and the hard way. When looking to obtain your commercial drivers license, the same is true. The hard way – try to teach yourself, or be trained by a driver who has bad driving habits and isn’t up to date with the road rules, or the easy way – through a truck driver training school with 40 years experience training drivers. I know what my preference is – what’s yours?

Being trained by skilled truck driver trainers ensures you don’t pick up bad habits right from day one. Bad habits are one of the biggest problems in any occupation because once developed they are extremely hard to break. They say that it takes five days to develop a habit, and five weeks of conscious effort to break them. If you start with good habits, you will have a lifetime of good driving skills. Learning to drive a truck and then acquiring your commercial drivers license goes well beyond habits, however. You need good skills, particularly in some of the trickier aspects like reversing a tractor and trailer – it’s not as easy as it looks.

Highway driving, particularly in traffic, is another skill that needs to be developed. Some of these bigger rigs require a lot of road space to stop, even in an emergency. Learning these skills is essential if you are to have a long and happy career as a truck driver. Your commercial drivers license is simply a test (perhaps simple is the wrong word) that a well trained driver should pass with ease. It does come back to that basic truck driver training.

ATS Truck Driver Training Schools have the experience, the skilled trainers and the industry respect when it comes to producing well trained truck drivers. If you’re driving down the highway and you meet a truck coming the other way, who do you want behind the wheel of that truck, a well trained driver or one that has learned a lot of bad habits? I hope its an ATS trained driver!

Road graders have long been a bastion of male dominance. While women have found their way into truck driving and bulldozer operations, they haven’t shown much interest in graders. That, however, seems to be changing quite quickly. In fact, women are looking at all forms of heavy equipment now and the technical challenge of graders is becoming appealing.

Are employers ready to take on female grader operators? It appears so. Of course, equal opportunity is playing a big role, but skills are still the determining factor. These days it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is, if you can demonstrate the skills required then you have an equal chance of landing that job. Modern machinery is one of the biggest factors in helping nontraditional workers enter the heavy equipment field.

Today’s heavy equipment relies less on the strength of the operator and more on their ability to coordinate their feet and hands. Power steering, for example, has made the operation of this equipment fingertip easy. Controls on many units of heavy equipment are similar to joysticks found with computer gaming machines – just a little heavier and more intuitive.

A sure sign that industry is more accepting of women in their ranks is to look at some of the heavy equipment training schools. In the past, you may have found one or two women attending these schools each year. Now you can often find one or two attending each time a course is conducted. ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools doesn’t discriminate in any fashion. If you have what it takes to become a grader operator, or any other unit of heavy equipment, then we are there ready to train you and to help you gain a start in your new career.

While operating a grader is not quite child’s play, it’s certainly achievable for most adults no matter what gender or background. If you want to find out more about heavy equipment careers, contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss your training options.

Summer is here and for some parts of the country it heralds the arrival of the fire season. It seems inevitable that every year some part of the country will burst into flames. Right now, there are bulldozers at work preparing the way for these fires. They build fire breaks, try to remove as much of the ground litter as possible and generally clear areas that could be highly combustible.

Their work is invaluable and could help to reduce the destruction caused by some of these summer fire storms. Unfortunately, the bulldozer’s role doesn’t finish there. In many cases, once a fire storm has ripped through an area, it is those same bulldozer operators that are called in to clean up the damage caused by these fires. This often involves clearing away what were once people’s homes.

Although it may sound like an easy job, working to reduce the amount of fuel on the floor takes an experienced and skilled bulldozer operator. Many of these areas are protected so the operator needs to work in such a way that ground fuel is reduced with the minimum amount of damage to the environment. These are skills that are developed over time and rely on the operator receiving good training at the start of their career.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are leaders in the field when it comes to training new recruits to the industry. The school’s reputation amongst contractors is good with many contractors sourcing their new employees direct from any one of the schools. While you cannot expect to be out creating firebreaks immediately after graduation, work is available in a variety of areas, work that will provide the experience and skills required to undertake that type of employment in the future.

Are you considering a career as a heavy equipment operator – more specifically, a bulldozer operator? If so, contact us to determine which school is closest to you and when the next heavy equipment training course commences.

Self employment is a popular path for many people involved in the heavy equipment industry and the machinery of choice are backhoes. There is a good reason for this, of course. Backhoes are versatile and can be used in a wide range of earth moving jobs. If an operator can acquire a backhoe and a set of attachments at a reasonable price, there is plenty of work available.

The downside to self employment is that backhoe operators need to become business savvy. Operators need to advertise their services, be savvy enough to know how long a job will take, how much they should charge and what sort of competition there is in their area. They also need to be aware of what sort of reputation, prices and availability that competition enjoys. For example, an operator with a good reputation may be able to charge more since their equipment is heavily booked. On the other hand, you may have a good reputation and be heavily booked so you can afford to set your prices a little higher than the competition. This is where business sense comes into play.

Like all careers, there is a starting point and for backhoes that entails training, experience and acquiring the funds to purchase your equipment. You will never gain any tangible experience unless you undertake a recognized training program. Employers are not going to risk their reputation, or their equipment, on graduates who don’t come from a recognized training program.

ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools are well recognized within the industry for providing well trained and ready to work heavy equipment graduates. Graduates from ATS find little difficulty in finding secure employment if they display the right attitudes during their training and through their job seeking processes.

It takes time. In fact, it may well take several years before you are ready to become a self employed backhoe operator. The opportunities are there for those that are willing to learn everything there is to know about operating backhoes and the associated attachments. Just remember, if you want to become self employed as a backhoe operator, it all starts with a recognized heavy equipment training program – from there, the sky’s the limit.