Getting a start in any career can be difficult unless you know someone in the business. Even then, employers are keen to employ the ‘right’ people for the job. If you’re considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, here are a few tips that may help you to reach your goal.

Heavy Equipment Training – research this area well. You need to choose a training business that will expose you to a range of heavy equipment, will train you to industry standards, and has a good reputation within industry. A training business that has been around for a long time generally suggests they are doing all the right things.

Select The Right Heavy Equipment – this is essential to your success. Heavy equipment ranges from small loaders through to backhoes, excavators, graders and bulldozers (and that’s only a brief list). Once you start your training, consider each vehicle carefully then select heavy equipment that you feel most comfortable with. You don’t have to settle on one type either, especially if you feel comfortable with related vehicles. For example, a backhoe, an excavator and a loader.

Seek Entry Level Work – be honest with employers and let them know you are seeking entry level work. This may reduce the number of options available to you, but employers appreciate honesty and there are positions available for entry level heavy equipment operators. Initially, don’t focus on money or the type of work offered – you are seeking experience and, hopefully, a good reference down the track. If you can achieve both, you will be well on your way to a successful career. A good training provider will help you to obtain employment so look for training providers that offer career services.

If you follow those three tips you will give yourself the best possible chance of gaining a start as a heavy equipment operator. The field can be competitive, but there are opportunities available for anyone who is prepared to work towards them. Training is at the core so select the very best heavy equipment training program available.

If Barack Obama gets his way then heavy equipment careers are likely to see some stability over the next six years. In fact, there is a good chance that we will once again see a shortage of skilled operators in the industry. The President is a proposing a $50 billion program that will see 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of railways and 150 miles of airport runways affected by some form of construction or maintenance program. That’s a lot of dollars and a lot miles to work on – even if it is spread out over six years.

For heavy equipment operators, or those looking to enter the industry, the news is most welcome. Even if you’re not directly affected by these types of programs, you will feel the spin-off effects. Operators will come from all areas looking to participate in these programs. This will leave a shortage of operators in many areas, particularly regional areas. Operators not directly involved will then be in a position to fill local vacancies caused by these programs.

If you are looking at heavy equipment as a possible career option, I suggest you keep your eyes on what is happening in Washington. Better yet, act now and complete your training before any of these programs are set in concrete. If you wait too long, you will be trying to start a career at the same time as many others – having a head start could see you in the box seat once demand starts to increase.

Adults often start their working life in careers that are not of their choosing. Our parents and those around us have a heavy influence on career decisions when we are young, and by the time we hit forty we are feeling a little out of sorts with our position in life. Statistics show that most Americans go through several career changes with the predominent age being between 35 and 40. Heavy equipment careers are well worth considering if you’re in this group and you may even find that employers prefer you to much younger new recruits.

Mature aged workers have several advantages over youth. They are more stable in their life, often having homes with mortgages and children at school. Compare this with younger workers who are often single with no children and no real commitments. This allows them the freedom to move around at will, picking jobs in areas that suit them. The more mature worker is also much more likely to remain in a job for longer periods.

Mature aged students often find that heavy equipment training is easier to handle as well. There is nothing like ‘life’ to teach one lessons when it comes to safety and the proper handling of equipment. Younger students often hold no fears and, while not necessarily acting recklessly, don’t always have the same appreciation of safety and proper workplace practices.

If you are in the mature aged category and going through a career crisis, consider heavy equipment training. You can be trained and ready for entry level employment in as little as three weeks. The opportunities are there, the pay is good and working conditions are well suited to those who enjoy a little freedom and working outdoors.

There has been a trend over the years for heavy equipment operators to specialize in one piece of machinery. For example, a bulldozer operator will only ever operate bulldozers and excavator operators only operate excavators. This is fine to some extent, you do become an expert in that piece of machinery. However, when it comes to heavy equipment careers, you are also limiting your options.

On the opposite side are employers, and there is a growing trend among them to have employees that can multi-skill. One area that all operators should consider is adding a commercial drivers license to their skills list. This gives an employer the option of having the operator truck a heavy equipment to a site, operate the equipment to complete the job, then trucking the equipment back to the yard or onto the next job.

You can go beyond that, however. Being able to competently operate a loader, excavator and backhoe – all related machinery – makes you far more employable than someone who has limited themselves to just an excavator, for example. From an employer’s perspective, do they hire three different operators on reduced hours, or one operator full time whom they can move from machine to machine as jobs dictate? The answer’s fairly obvious.

There is nothing wrong with specializing when there is plenty of work around. However, as many operators will tell you, heavy equipment careers have peaks and troughs and it can be hard to survive when work drops away. Being multi-skilled means you will have far more options during these periods when compared to other operators. Heavy equipment careers are very competitive in today’s marketplace. Start by undertaking the best heavy equipment training you can find and then consider developing your skills in a range of equipment rather than just specializing in the one. While your at it, consider adding CDL training to your resume – you will be armed with a complete set of skills and it will make you highly competitive in the job market.

When talking to those who dream of a heavy equipment career, it can be hard work trying to get them to think realistically. As with most careers, you can’t expect to start at the top – after all, if you start at the top, the only direction you can go is down. Operating a large excavator or bulldozer is not out of the question, but you do have to get the basics right first and to then work your way to more responsible roles.

If you are considering a career in heavy equipment, start by thinking like an employer – who are you going to employ and what sort of jobs are you going to give them? Novices are obviously going to get the more mundane easy jobs. The harder task will go to those that have experience. Just remember, those experienced operators once started at the bottom, as you will. How they applied themselves to the various tasks then reflected in the types of jobs they were asked to do – the more they applied themselves and learned about their roles, the more difficult the tasks.

So starting with the basics then becomes important. Heavy equipment training that exposes students to a range of equipment and a range of tasks is the best start. Hands on training is obviously the best way to learn. Standing behind someone and watching them may teach you how to use the controls, but it doesn’t give you a ‘feel’ for the equipment. There is so much more to learn by actually sitting in the operator’s seat. Your hands and feet play an important role in ‘feeling’ what the equipment is doing – for example, is it straining, is it hitting rock, and what about the many other situations?

This is what is often termed ‘instinctive’ control of your equipment. Your body feels what is happening and acts almost before your brain clicks into gear. The more hands on experience you gain, the more control you will have over your equipment. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools have been training prospective heavy equipment operators for decades. We can’t teach you ‘instinct’ – you develop that over time. We can, however, teach you to become highly proficient operators, ready to start in the work place and ready to gain that ‘instinct’ in the workplace. Your heavy equipment career starts by getting those basic skills right – and that’s where we can help you.

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.

With worse than expected employment figures out in recent weeks, you may be wondering if heavy equipment careers are still viable long term options. Long term of course is always a great unknown. However, history teaches us much when it comes to trends for long term careers. In the short term, the demand for heavy equipment operators is still steady. So what does history teach us?

Historically, construction has led economies back to recovery. Whether it has been roads, infrastructure or home building, these activities have helped to spark the economy. Construction has several effects on an economy. The first effect is felt through the pay packets of construction workers. The more in work, the more money that flows into the economy and this lifts demand. The second effect is what could be described as the snowball effect. As demand for products rise, more trucks, more production workers and more retail workers are required – this of course leads to more income in the nation and more demand again. The final effect is seen through the demand for raw materials and equipment – this also has a snowballing effect.

So what does this have to do with heavy equipment careers? We have already seen how the government reacts to an economic crisis – they throw as much money as possible into stimulating the economy and where do they throw this money? Construction. We are in the midst of one of the biggest national infrastructure building programs in decades. This has lead to an increase in demand for heavy equipment operators in the short term.

Long term? That is a harder question. However, there is one more fact that needs to be considered. The baby boomers are reaching retirement age and this is going to leave a huge hole in many industries – the construction industry included. The birth rate has dropped remarkably in the years from 1960-2000. This means there will be almost twice as many people retiring from work as those going into employment. A heavy equipment career offers no promises, but then, no career does. However, the situation in our society at present leads one to think that all employment sectors will face labor shortages in the future.

For younger people entering the work force, heavy equipment training will provide them with lifelong skills. While ever we need roads, homes, schools, hospitals or any other building, heavy equipment operators will be needed.

There is strong demand for heavy equipment operators at present but what does a heavy equipment career offer for new operators? In the short term, there is plenty of work available and there are opportunities for all new operators to not only gain a start in the industry, but to also bring home a healthy pay check. The long term outlook is much harder to predict.

When it comes to the future, there are never any guarantees. We don’t know where the economy is headed, whether or not the bleak conditions in Europe will affect us, or how fast we can bounce back to a healthy economy. We can however look at history and what has happened in the past.

History shows that economies are always bouncing around going from highs to lows before climbing back to highs again. There is one other factor that needs to be considered when looking at any career, particularly those in construction and heavy equipment. This is the aging of our population. To some, there is real concern that, rather than having an over supply of operators, we will be left with severe shortages.

If you look around most building sites, the one thing you will rarely see is sixty year olds at work, even in the cab of heavy equipment. Most construction workers seem to get to around fifty, perhaps fifty-five and then give the game away and look for employment that is a little less physical, a little less dependent on young fit bodies. Heavy equipment careers are a little different in that age is not a strong factor when it comes to being capable – but after 30 or more years as an operator, many are still ready to call it quits when they hit their fifties.

This exodus of labor from the industry is already starting to take affect. Many employers are trying hard to retain experienced operators well into their fifties, or using them to pass on their skills and knowledge to the next generation. Is there a bright future for heavy equipment operators? The next twenty years will undoubtedly see highs and lows, but if we don’t have an increase in the number of young people graduating from heavy equipment training programs, there is a real risk that we will have severe shortages in numbers, not an excess. Heavy equipment careers can still offer a reasonably stable future for new operators – we just need to encourage more into the industry.

A recent report has highlighted the stimulus spending effects on the construction industry in general. The news is good with heavy equipment careers set to boom over the next 12 months. In fact, if you have had any thoughts of entering the industry, now is the time to act or you run the risk of missing out.

The report estimates that stimulus spending has saved or created 280,000 direct construction jobs. If around 8% of all construction jobs are heavy equipment related, that equates to around 25,000 heavy equipment related jobs – with more to come. The report also pointed to transport projects as being the one construction area to really grow over the past 12 months. Transport projects (road and bridge construction) have a heavy reliance on heavy equipment.

With the current employment situation favoring construction, now is the best to enter the industry. Heavy equipment operator numbers have steadily decreased in recent years as our population has aged. For the industry, it is has not just seen a loss of operators, it has seen a loss of operators that have had decades of experience, something that cannot be replaced overnight.

Is a heavy equipment career right for you? The only person who can answer that is you. However, there is one tool that you can make use of that may just help you decide. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools has a totally free online training program. You can register for this training program and undertake the lessons, all from the comfort of your own home on your own computer. Once you have completed the training program, you can then decide whether or not a heavy equipment career is right for you. The jobs are there – we just need the right operators to fill those jobs. Are you potentially one of them?

Heavy equipment careers cover a broad spectrum in both machinery types and industries. You could work in construction, mining, forestry, agriculture and/or landscaping – just to name a few. You can find work in almost every corner of the world, even here at home. When it comes to machinery, I don’t have enough room on this page to list them all. You can break them down into generalized categories. These include:

• Pushing – this includes bulldozers and graders
• Excavating – this includes excavators and backhoes
• Carriers – this includes front end loaders, backhoes and fork lift trucks

I have been very brief in each description. For example, some of those units of equipment could be further broken down to skip loaders or mini excavators, for example, and I haven’t even covered heavy equipment like scrapers. If you enter the mining industry then you will be introduced to specialized equipment like shovels – in reality, massive excavators that spend all day shoveling tons of rock into trucks. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There are jobs everywhere for heavy equipment operators, even in the military. If you have experience with heavy equipment you could even find work in our ports, on oil wells, at rail yards and in some of our largest factories. You would be surprised at which sectors of the workplace use heavy equipment – you would also be surprised at what sort of work they do.

There is one common thread that runs through these roles in heavy equipment. A successful heavy equipment career starts with a training program that provides experience on a range of equipment. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools is accredited to delivering and assess students in the use of heavy equipment. If you are looking for a heavy equipment career – contact us here at ATS – we will get your started.