No matter which part of the country you live in, there are heavy equipment jobs waiting for you. Here are a few we’ve found this week:

• PITTSBURGH, PA Hiring mobile crane operators.
• GRANITE FALLS, MN Hiring rigger and signalperson.
• ATLANTA, GA Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• ELM GROVE, WI Hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• NEW IBERIA, LA Hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• PHILADELPHIA, PA Hiring mobile crane operators.
• LANEVILLE, TX Hiring mobile crane operators.
• ANKENY, IA Hiring rigger and signalperson.
• PITTSBURGH, PA Hiring mobile crane operators.
• DES MOINES, IA Hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.

Whether you’re looking for a Class-A CDL truck driving job, a heavy equipment operator job, a mobile crane operator job, a rigger and signalperson job, or another job in the heavy equipment field, you can find the job you are looking for at Total Resources Network.

You’ll gain access to our free job board when you graduate from the Associated Training Services heavy equipment operator school.

Start your career off on the right foot. Get the training you need to qualify as a heavy equipment operator in your state. You can take the comprehensive heavy equipment operator course, which qualifies you to get a job in any state in the U.S., or you can take the CDL course to obtain your commercial driver’s license. Either way, you’ll be employable anywhere you go.

It’s a tough job market. Not only do you need employable skills, but you need to understand how to position yourself as the right person for every job. That includes knowing how to prepare a resume, conduct an interview, and negotiate salaries.

If you’re looking for a lucrative career, the heavy equipment career is ready for you. Here are five reasons why now is a good time to get in:

1. Lots of Demand – There is a lot of demand for heavy equipment operators. Construction is booming everywhere. Cities and municipalities, private businesses, and even the federal government have projects going on all the time.
2. Pay is Increasing – You’d think that demand is driving wages lower, but in fact, as the cost of living rises, heavy equipment operators need to earn more to maintain the lifestyles they’ve enjoyed. The best companies in the field are paying heavy equipment operators handsomely.
3. Baby Boomers are Retiring – The older heavy equipment operators in the workforce are retiring in droves. That’s leaving a lot of empty spaces for new operators.
4. Opportunities for Advancement – Because the top heavy equipment operators, who tend to be older, are retiring, that means a lot of younger but experienced heavy equipment operators will be moving up, leaving room for entry-level operators to step in and fill positions. When new positions in management open up, who do you think will be in line?
5. Many Ways to Earn More Income – Once you get certified to operate heavy equipment, you can make yourself more employable and valuable to your employers by training on other equipment and getting other certifications that can increase your pay. These include rigging, CDLs, and mobile crane certifications.

This is the best time to start a career in heavy equipment. What are you waiting for?

Total Resources Network has job listings all over the country. When you become a student at ATS, you get full access to all the job listings and training in soft skills such as resume preparation and interviewing. We want you to be a success and that means preparing you for the workforce.

Here is a small selection of available jobs for heavy equipment operators in the U.S.:

• COLUMBIA, TN. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• WYOMING, MI. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• EAU CLAIRE, WI. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• COLOMA, WI. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• BATON ROUGE, LA. Hiring Mobile Crane Operators.
• DENTON, TX. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• LANCASTER, TX. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• INDIANAPOLIS, IN. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• LAREDO, TX. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• JACKSONVILLE, FL. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• SOUTHBURY, CT. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• AMHERST, WI. Hiring CLASS-A CDL Truck Drivers.
• DALLAS, TX. Hiring heavy equipment operators.
• PLAIN, WI. Hiring heavy equipment operators.

It looks like if you live in Texas this week, you’ve got some job options, especially the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Become a student in one of ATS’s heavy equipment or truck driving classes and you’ll gain free access to job listings and can start applying for jobs right away. Our career counselor will help you prepare for job interviews, get your resume up to snuff, and help you hone your interviewing skills.

There are all sorts of heavy equipment jobs all around the nation – crane operator jobs, construction equipment jobs, truck driving opportunities, rigging and safety occupations, and jobs in a wide variety of industries too.

Start your heavy equipment career today.

It’s amazing how brazen some people can be. The construction industry is full of technology stories related to workers turning up for work and finding that someone had, overnight, stolen equipment, tools, and building materials. Imagine turning up for work and finding a large bulldozer was missing. That requires a truck to transport it away from the construction site, and let’s face it, moving a bulldozer is not a quiet job – yet people do it. More importantly, they steal large heavy equipment and they are often never found – at least, until now.

The introduction of GPS units into modern heavy equipment has had an upside, GPS units can be used to track vehicles if and when they are stolen. Recent news stories highlight how effective this technology is. I remember reading one news story that reported the successful location of stolen heavy equipment just one hour after it was reported stolen, all because of the GPS unit located inside the equipment.

GPS is just one of the new technologies that are being used to make life easier for heavy equipment operators. Computer-aided systems are everywhere now – from those designed to ensure the smooth and economical running of an engine to complex units designed to help operators finely adjust the settings on their blades.

New heavy equipment operators have it easy. They learn to operate heavy equipment using this new technology and can then update their skills on the job as new technology is introduced. Older drivers who return to the industry after a lengthy lay-off are often amazed at the changes in heavy equipment and sometimes struggle to come to terms with these changes.  Heavy equipment technology is making life easier for operators, safer for workers, and protecting equipment from theft – all positive for those involved in the field of heavy equipment operations.

Technology is slowly changing the way we do things when it comes to heavy equipment and the construction industry. This technology is now allowing some heavy equipment machinery to do jobs that were in the past restricted to one particular type of machine. Laser grade control is a good example. In the past, if you wanted grading, you needed to use a grader. If you had a small area that was hard to access, then grading needed to be done by hand, and that can be quite labor intensive.

Laser grade control is a two dimensional system that uses laser beacons that are set up around the area to be graded. The technology uses those beacons as a guide, adjusting the blade settings on heavy equipment ‘on-the-fly’ – that is, moment by moment as required by the terrain. Graders make good use of this system, however, it is not restricted to graders. Smaller equipment such as skid steers can have the technology fitted, and they can fit in smaller areas.

Whilst that is a good example of how laser grade controls can be used, the reality now is that technology such as this is being incorporated into bigger machinery. There is the potential to make graders, for example, redundant, however, when it comes to long grading projects such as road building, you just can’t beat a dedicated piece of machinery like a grader – they are built for this task, and they do it extremely well.

Some construction projects will use this technology in a range of heavy equipment and whilst a grader will do the bulk of the grading work, other machinery with this technology will be used in support. This could help to speed up the completion time of many projects, a happy thought for construction companies. The latest in laser grade control is 3D, however, whilst more powerful, it does come with a much higher price tag.

What does this all mean to those who are considering a career in heavy equipment operations, particularly as a grader operator? Learning how to use laser grade control will become more important, and whilst graders will now compete for some jobs with other machinery, there will still be strong demand for grader operators. The key to being a successful heavy equipment operator is to become proficient on a range of machinery – you’ll never be out of work then.

You may think that big cities are done with construction, however, in truth, big cities arguably have the biggest concentration of construction projects. In fact, you could argue that big cities spend as much time in destruction as they do in construction, especially those cities that are fairly old. Because there is a lot of construction (and destruction) work being carried out in large cities, the demand for heavy equipment operators is quite large.

I know there are many people who live in large cities who have brushed aside thoughts of a career in heavy equipment operations simply because they feel there is little to offer in their city. Cities are continually evolving, and the larger the city the more it evolves. Schools become too small and need to be demolished to make way for larger schools. The same can be said for hospitals, apartment blocks, office buildings and shopping malls.

This means there is a constant need for construction workers in cities, and this includes heavy equipment operators, crane operators and truck drivers, particularly dump truck drivers. If you live in a city and don’t feel there’s the need for heavy equipment operators, check the employment section of your city newspaper. You can also drop into our heavy equipment operator training school and talk to someone from our career services section – you’ll be surprised with how much work there really is in some big cities.

Careers in heavy equipment operations are very rewarding, especially those that involve the demolition of old buildings and the construction of new buildings. The pay rates are good, especially when you consider you only require three weeks of heavy equipment operator training. If you live in a big city, don’t brush aside a career in heavy equipment operations. Rather, take a closer look.

We take a very different approach to heavy equipment training – we target our training and efforts into helping people start a career as heavy equipment operators. This means training our students in the skills that employers are looking for, not just the very basics. Our focus is also on helping students get into the workplace as operators as quickly as possible.

How do we achieve this? Our training packages include access to our career services department. They will meet with each student early on in their training to help them develop a job placement plan. This includes assistance with resumes, job applications and interview preparation. We also provide access to a database that has thousands of employers listed. This makes finding suitable employers in your region an easy task.

Our assistance doesn’t stop there. We have a dedicated jobs website that frequently lists job vacancies. These vacancies are provided by employers – a sure sign that employers trust our training and the quality of our graduates. As a graduate, you can add your resume to the database; this makes it easier for employers to find you.

If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator, then your focus should be on your career. Your training is just one of the steps required to develop that career, the other being experience in the work place. When looking for a heavy equipment training school, be sure to select one that has job placement as the focus, not simple basic training.

I had the opportunity to sit in the operator’s seat of a brand new mini-excavator today – and I must say, it was impressive. One of the first things to strike me was the size of the cab. It may be a mini-excavator, but there was plenty of room in the cab – even for a large person. The seat was quite comfortable – I could imagine sitting in it for hours on end working away at a trench or demolition job.

The most impressive part of the cab was the view – 360 degrees of unobstructed view. Now I know many heavy equipment operators would say they have that already, however, I am talking about a fully enclosed air-conditioned cab – not an open air cab. It was all glassed in with narrow corner frames that didn’t obstruct the view at all. Air conditioning was comfortable to work in, and the unit also heated for those cold winter days.

When it comes to controls, they are almost child-friendly. If anything, they may have been oversensitive, however, it only takes a little time to adjust to the fast response of these controls. When it came to actually digging, this mini-excavator had plenty of power, literally carving through dirt bucket load by bucket load.

You’re probably wanting to know what make of excavator I was sitting in, however, I’m not here to advertise that mini-excavator. Rather, I am pointing to how easy it is to use modern heavy equipment and how comfortable working life is. You don’t need to be built like a professional wrestler to handle these machines. In fact, a pro wrestler would probably have too much strength.

No, modern equipment relies more on the subtle touch than the brute force, and the office you’re going to be working from is almost luxurious compared to those from a decade or so ago. The view from the operator’s seat of modern heavy equipment is great – perhaps you’ll get the chance to experience it one day. It takes a couple of weeks of heavy equipment training to have you ready.

There is such a huge focus on heavy equipment safety these days that you could be excused for thinking it was the number one priority. For government agencies like the Department of Labor, it is. For employers, safety is obviously an issue, however, it is not necessarily their number one priority. For employers, it is more of a holistic approach.

What employers are looking for is an operator who can get a job done quickly, accurately, and safely. In fact, safety and skills are linked – if you are not operating your equipment safely, then there is a good chance you’ll have an accident, and this will lead to down time, possibly an investigation, and the job not being completed on time. In today’s construction industry, not completing a contract on time can lead to penalties, which reduce the income a construction company receives. On the flip side, if a contract is completed ahead of time, there could be bonus payments available, and since money rules the business world, you know what an employer’s preference is going to be.

When training to become a heavy equipment operator, it is important to focus on all aspects of your training. Skills are obviously important, however, safety should not be ignored or underestimated. As a student, there is not one priority learning area – in short, all of your training should be your priority.

A well-trained heavy equipment operator who can work safely whilst getting the job done on or ahead of time will always find themselves with work. These operators gain reputations that make them highly employable and sought after. Operators who have a tendency to take short cuts, have accidents, and be generally unreliable will soon find themselves unemployable – the grape vine is very strong in the field of heavy equipment and your reputation, good or bad, will quickly filter through the system. Start off on the right foot by being a competent and safe operator.

On Thursday we mentioned how positive the jobs outlook for heavy equipment operators is as we head towards 2020. The number of jobs to come into our jobs website over the last month certainly supports this positive outlook, and with summer almost upon us, job vacancies will only increase. Now is a great time to undertake heavy equipment training – you’ll be finished just in time for the late spring/summer hiring season. Some of the heavy equipment operator jobs listed over the last month include:

Heavy Equipment Operator
Tampa, FL
Primary Heavy Equipment Operator required.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Mobridge, SD.
Heavy Equipment operators required.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Stillwater, OK
Operates heavy equipment at a transfer station, recycle and/or landfill for the purpose of transferring, spreading, covering, loading and/or compacting waste or soil in a productive and safe manner.

Primary Heavy Equipment Operator II
Pompano Beach, FL
Primary Heavy Equipment Operator required for work in sunny Florida

Heavy Equipment Operators
Cleveland, OH.
North Coast Ferrous hiring backhoe operators for Iron recycling, Attachments Shears, Magnets

Heavy Equipment Operators
Florida
Lots of Heavy Equipment jobs available in Florida, many with immediate starts

Quarry Heavy Equipment Operator
La Coste, TX
Heavy Equipment Operator position available near Castroville, Texas. Please only apply if you already live in or around the San Antonio, Texas area, there is no relocation for this position and we are looking to hire someone immediately.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Ghent, KY
Position will be operating a front end loader, skidsteer loader, fork truck, track mobile, or excavator, providing services to a steel mill. Other duties as required by the Operations Supervisor or the Terminal Manager.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Murfreesboro, TN
Operates heavy equipment at a transfer station, recyclery and/or landfill for the purpose of transferring, spreading, covering, loading and/or compacting waste or soil in a productive and safe manner.

If you’re looking for a career change, then heavy equipment operations is worth a closer look. It only takes three weeks training and you’re ready for a career that’s well paid and in growing demand.