There was a time when boys grew up playing with trucks and girls grew up playing with dolls. These days, boys and girls play with trucks (and probably dolls) and for some, it’s hard to take that child out of them when they grow up. You can find men and women working together as dump truck drivers on a lot of construction sites, and to watch them, you’d think they were still in their childhood.

So what makes dump truck driving popular? Apart from childhood memories, dump trucks offer a lot. The money is good and the work is regular. In fact, dump trucks are often the last piece of machinery to come to a stop due to weather or the completion of a project. Regular work means regular income, and that’s a must for those who take the owner-driver route.

Dump truck driving involves both team work and individual work. As a team, you need to work with heavy equipment operators so they can fill your dumper quickly and efficiently. In other situations, you will need to work with a team when dumping material, especially when bringing in material used for projects such as roads.

As an individual, you are the master of your vehicle, often buzzing around the place, loading here, unloading there – it’s never a dull moment. There are special skills involved with dump truck driving, team work being one of them, and driving another. You will also need to learn how to use the dumping mechanism, especially when it comes to slow dumping of material over a distance.

Since dump trucks are generally required to drive on public roads, a commercial drivers license will be needed before you can seek employment. We offer professional dump truck driver training along with a career service that can help you find your first job.

Obtaining a Commercial Drivers License is not difficult. Many people can obtain their license inside of four weeks; for most people, a six to seven week period is the norm. If you have the time at home, you can get a hold of your state’s Commercial Drivers License handbook and study it cover to cover before taking your written tests. This can help to reduce the time period a little. For most people, the following are the general steps required, although you don’t necessarily need to complete them in this order.

1 – Check the requirements for a Commercial Drivers License in your state and determine if you are eligible.
2 – Find a truck driver training school that offers a complete service. This should include obtaining your permit, both classroom and hands-on training, assistance (including access to a truck) to complete the skills test, and assistance in obtaining employment post training.
3 – Learn the rules and regulations related to truck driving and any endorsements that you may seek for your drivers license.
4 – Obtain a truck driving permit. This is obtained after passing the knowledge tests in your state and allows you drive a truck (under supervision) on public roads.
5 – Undertake skills-based training to learn how to drive a truck. This should include reversing, public road driving (in traffic), and associated skills such as pre-trip inspections and coupling/un-coupling of trailers.
6 – Complete the skills component required to obtain a Commercial Drivers License.
7 – Undertake a medical assessment that confirms you are medically fit to drive a truck. This will include eye tests and a review of your current and previous health status.
8 – Receive your Commercial Drivers License – congratulations if you make it this far, you should now be ready for employment as a truck driver.

Naturally, there will be forms that need to be completed for some of these steps. A good quality truck driver training school will help you through every one of those steps, ensuring the process is as easy and as quick as possible. At ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training Schools, we do as much as possible for you, including helping you to find employment once you have your Commercial Drivers License.

One of the frustrations that confront millions of people around the nation is the cost of training to either start a career, or to change careers. Training isn’t free unless you can hook into a government sponsored training program. In some rare situations, employers will sponsor those undertaking training, however, that often comes at a price, for example, agreeing to pay for the training if they don’t employ you, or agreeing to pay for the training if you leave your job before a certain time period has elapsed. So how do you undertake training for a career when money is tight?

There are a number of solutions. Some people are eligible for government funding, especially those who have served in the military. You could save – however, that is difficult these days. ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training Schools tries to remove some of the financial hurdles that face many people. We have several financial assistance processes that prospective students can access, all offering the opportunity to train now.

It is also helpful to undertake a cost-benefit analysis. Training to become a heavy equipment operator can be completed in as little as three weeks. This means you could be working in your new career in weeks, not months or years. Heavy equipment operators earn a good income, especially as you gain experience. This increase in income will pay for your training quite quickly making the cost of your training a good investment – certainly higher than the interest rates currently on offer for savings.

Cost should never be a barrier to a new career so we do everything possible to help remove that barrier. If you are considering a career as a heavy equipment operator (or as a crane operator or truck driver), then talk to us. We may be able to help you find solutions that could have you training in next to no time – and with our career service assistance, into a new job.

What’s the hardest truck to drive? Long distance semi-trailer drivers spend long hours behind the wheel whilst a local dump truck drivers could be getting in and out of the cab a dozen or more times a day. Are bigger trucks, then, technically harder to drive? Again, there is not a simple answer to this question. In most cases, a larger truck does involve more skills, however, don’t elect for a small truck because it sounds easier – some smaller trucks are technically harder to drive.

Like all professions, each type of truck has its own idiosyncrasies and levels of difficulty. There are some trucks that have large gear boxes – sometimes as many as 16 gears. There are other trucks that have nothing more than a straight-forward gearbox and drive more like a large van. Each type of truck has its own skill requirements, so it’s almost impossible to state that one truck is more difficult to drive than another.

Trucks carry different types of loads. For example, tankers, which generally carry liquids, require special skills to handle the movement of that liquid in the tanker. Flat bed trailers are often used to transport heavy equipment, and most drivers are expected to load and unload that heavy equipment – a different set of skills altogether. Drivers who transport large loads need to be aware of low bridges whilst those that transport wider loads may require special escorts to clear the way ahead. They often drive late at night to avoid heavy traffic.

When undertaking truck driver training, you need to select a school that can prepare you for the type of truck you intend driving. In most cases, you are expected to undertake your practical driving test (for your commercial drivers license) in a vehicle similar to that you intend driving. There are many skills that are common to all trucks, and the road rules and regulations are very similar for each truck type. You select your career path then undertake truck driver training to suit that career path.

This week’s jobs include two that reinforce our belief that heavy equipment operators should have a commercial drivers license. There are two employers who are looking for truck drivers and heavy equipment operators – if you can fulfill both rolls, it makes it much easier to find employment. This week’s jobs on our jobs website include:

Truck Drivers
Bainville, MT
DUAL TRUCKING is hiring drivers (they are also looking for operators)

Heavy Equipment Operators
Bainville, MT
DUAL TRUCKING is hiring heavy equipment operators (they are also looking for truck drivers)

Truck Drivers
Mobridge, SD
Employer now taking applications for spring hire of truck drivers with CDL-A

Heavy Equipment Operators
Mobridge, SD
Employer now taking applications for spring hire of heavy equipment operators

Heavy Equipment Operators
Evergreen, CO.
Employer hiring HEAVY Equipment Operators

Last week’s focus was on truck drivers, and the trend continues. Truck driving jobs from last week include vacancies in:

• Lynchburg, VA
• San Antonio, TX
• Williston, ND
• Claremore, OK
• Southern, WI.
• Madison, WI.

If you’re looking for a new career, then heavy equipment operations and truck driving are two that are in constant demand. We can have you ready for a career as a heavy equipment operator in as little as three weeks, a little longer for truck drivers that undertake the full truck driver training program.

Heavy equipment operators who can operate a range of equipment are always in high demand. If you have commercial drivers license (CDL) and some experience transporting heavy equipment on flat bed tractor trailers, then you’ll be in even higher demand. Commercial construction companies are always looking for ways to cut costs, and being able to employ one person who is able to do a range of tasks is always going to be cost effective.

The downside for operators is that you can expect to be moved from equipment to equipment as the demand arises. This movement is seen as a big plus to many heavy equipment operators as it adds variety to their working life. Having a CDL often means there is no waiting around as well. Once you complete one job, you load your equipment onto the trailer and move on to the next task.

When you think about it, completing the required training to become a heavy equipment operator and completing the requirements for a CDL makes a lot of sense. There’s three weeks training to become a heavy equipment operator and as little as two weeks training to gain a CDL (if you work on the theory side of your training at home). If you want the complete CDL course, then you’re looking at an extra three weeks – however, that’s eight weeks in total and you have all the skills that employers are looking for.

If you are already a trained heavy equipment operator, then adding a commercial drivers license to your repertoire could be the boost your career needs. Finding work will be easier and you may even find your wage rates are a little higher. You’ll certainly find your work more diverse and far more interesting.

The jobs market is as fickle as ever this week with almost every job listed on our dedicated jobs website being for truck drivers. It does make for a change since we have seen a domination of heavy equipment operators during the last month. If you are interested in any of these jobs, or want more information, then visit our jobs website. Keep a close watch as new job opportunities are coming in all the time. The latest jobs include:

Truck Drivers
Lynchburg, VA
Dedicated Truck Driver with a Class A CDL is required by Schneider National, Inc

Truck Drivers
San Antonio, TX
Truck Driver CDL A or B with Boom. Full time work as a local truck driver/logisics.

Truck Drivers
Williston, ND
Truck Driver with CDL is required by Deer Valley Trucking in Williston, ND:

Truck Drivers
Claremore, OK
CDLA truck driver required in Catoosa/Claremore – wage rates from $14 per hour

Truck Drivers
Southern, WI.
Lycon is hiring local truck drivers – be home every night

Truck Drivers
Madison, WI.
Badger Coaches is hiring drivers for local work – be home every night

You can expect to see an increase in the number of truck driving jobs on offer in the coming years. We are losing drivers (through retirement) faster than we can recruit new trainees, so if you’re looking for an in-demand career, then consider truck driving. As you can see from today’s list, even local drivers are in demand. You only require five weeks of truck driver training to be in a position to gain your commercial drivers license, and from there, the roads are yours to conquer.

Everyone wants a bigger pay check each month, however, convincing your employer you deserve more money is often a difficult task. There are several ways you can help your cause, and most of them revolve around how flexible and important you are to your employer. We have spoken in previous posts about being proficient in the operations of a range of heavy equipment, and employers are now preferring to employ operators with these skills.

Employers are also looking for heavy equipment operators who have a commercial drivers license. It’s almost becoming a must-have with a high proportion of heavy equipment operator job vacancies we receive, including a current CDL as a requirement. Employers will pay a premium for those heavy equipment operators who have a commercial drivers license since that reduces the need to employ separate truck drivers.

Operators can transport their own equipment to the job site and back again, or on to the next job. There’s no down time whilst the operator waits for a truck to arrive and pick-up/drop-off their equipment.

Our truck driver training program can help heavy equipment operators gain their commercial drivers license in just over three weeks (if you’re prepared to do some of the work at home), or five weeks for a complete CDL-A training program. That’s a short period of training for what will be a lifetime skill, and a qualification your employer can make use of almost immediately.

For employers looking to up-skill their heavy equipment operators, truck driver training could prove to be ideal. That extra skill can help you better plan your operators activities, reduce costs overtime, and add diversity to your employer’s working life, a factor that leads to a more satisfied group of employees. For heavy equipment operators who want to earn more money, simply add a CDL-A to your skills list. It could make a big difference over time.

Spring must be approaching, and rapidly too judging by the number of heavy equipment operators required this week. There is also a smattering of truck drivers and crane operators required. It’s also a timely reminder for heavy equipment operators that employers are looking for operators who also have a Class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL). If you don’t have one, now may be a good time to acquire one – five weeks of truck driver training will have you well and truly ready for the spring hire. This weeks jobs include:

Heavy Equipment Operators
Lubbock, TX
Seeking Heavy Equipment Operators, Maintainers, & Dozers – Must Have Class A CDL License

Heavy Equipment Operators
Fort Myers, FL
There are immediate openings for Heavy Equipment Operators to operate heavy construction equipment at various worksites. Heavy Equipment Operator performs more than one of the following units: backhoe, excavator, dirt loaders.

Equipment Operator
Pasco County, FL
Salary Disclosure: Starting Salary: $11.13 – Salary Range for this Position: $11.13 – $18.12

Mobile Equipment Operator
Lake Charles, LA
Two years of experience or training in the operation of mobile equipment.

Heavy Equipment Operators
Grand Rapids, MI
Highway contractor hiring Heavy Equipment Operators to operate a variety of excavating equipment with CDL.

Heavy Equipment Operators
Bristol, VA
ATMOS ENERGY is hiring installer and maintainer that operates heavy Equipment.

CRANE OPERATOR
San Ardo, CA
Operates tire mounted crane 15 to 80 tons. Small and large cranes. Class A drivers license. Must possess Certification NCCO (National Crane Certification Organization). Operates heavy earth moving equipment to gouge out, level, and distribute earth and to push trees and rocks from land preparatory to constructing roads and buildings to remediate soil or other operations in accordance with PSC policies, practices and procedures.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Nicholasville, KY
Seeking safety minded experienced heavy equipment operators to work on railroad construction crews. Previous railroad track construction will get preference. Considered candidates must be willing to travel extensively.

Truck Drivers
Baraboo, WI
Menards Lumber needs Contract Delivery Drivers. Deliver construction materials.

Equipment Operator
Gypsum, CO
Maintains and operates light and heavy equipment used in the operation of the
county’s maintenance and construction projects.

Heavy Machine Operator
Albany, GA
Understand and program the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) equipment. Ability to operate CNC equipment. Load and unload equipment with material. Troubleshoot, properly mark and stamp materials. Maintain and clean machine daily. Other duties may be assigned.

You can find more information on these and any other vacancies on our jobs website. You can also visit our main equipment operator website for more information on truck driver training, heavy equipment operator training, and crane operator training.

Employers are changing their focus as modern heavy equipment becomes easier to operate. In years gone by, you could specialize in one piece of heavy equipment, let’s say a bulldozer, and spend your whole working life just operating that equipment. There are still opportunities to specialize, however, they are becoming less of an option for new operators entering the industry. The preference for many employers is for heavy equipment operators who can operate a range of machinery.

In fact, employers are going beyond heavy equipment, often requesting applications from skilled heavy equipment operators who also have a commercial drivers license (CDL). From employers’ point of view, it makes a lot of sense. Why employ ten separate operators and truck drivers when five will cover all of the equipment used, and the flat-bed trailers required to transport them. This reduces costs for the employer and gives them the flexibility to place operators wherever they are needed each day.

For new heavy equipment operators, the aim should be to gain experience on as wide a range of heavy equipment as possible. If you have the opportunity, you should also consider adding a commercial drivers license to your repertoire of skills. This will make you more employable and will open far more doors than those available to specialist heavy equipment operators.

The heavy equipment operator training program at ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Schools includes access to heavy equipment such as:

• Backhoes
• Wheel Loaders
• Scrapers
• Excavators
• Bulldozers
• Road Graders
• Rock Trucks
• Skid Steers
• All-Terrain Forklifts

We also have a truck driver training program available that helps operators obtain a commercial drivers license. Once you have graduated from these programs, you will have all the skills required to obtain entry level employment in the heavy equipment industry. You will also have the added benefit of a CDL should demand for heavy equipment operators ever drop off.