Now that Memorial Day is over, let’s have a frank talk about holidays and truck driving. If you think that you’ll be one of those rare truck drivers who are always home on every holiday, then you might rethink your plans to acquire truck driver training. Heavy equipment operators are another story.

Typically, heavy equipment operators work on a job site that is owned by a private company, public corporation, or government entity. Many of them get holidays off, but there is no guarantee. A truck driver, on the other hand, is more likely to work holidays for one simple reason – they deliver the goods that serve as the backbone of modern society.

Truck drivers transport everything from basic toiletries to lumber and automobiles. Anything that is sold in a store has to be transported from the manufacturer to the retail outlet where consumers purchase it. Also, raw materials are often transported by truck drivers so that manufacturers can build the products they sell over the retail counter. All of this means that holidays like Christmas and Easter are especially busy times for truck drivers. But other holidays might be busy times, as well.

If you deliver hardware and tools, for instance, you might be busier around Father’s Day than most other times of the year. If you deliver flowers and fabric, you might be busier around Mother’s Day. Deliver turkeys? Thanksgiving will likely be a peak season. If you deliver produce, you’ll be busy all year.

That’s not to say that you’ll be delivering ON Christmas Day. You may be on the road up to Christmas Day. Many retail stores will receive a new product on the morning of Christmas Eve, and if that is the case, you’ll likely be there with your truck. But if you are thousands of miles from home, you’ll be traveling on Christmas Day to get back to your family.

Most truck drivers understand this when they enter the profession. You have to be flexible if you want to make the big bucks as a truck driver.

A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is a requirement if you want to get behind the wheel of a load-carrying vehicle and drive it. That’s true whether you want to drive a dump truck from one construction site to another or you want to carry vehicles across the country on Big Rig. If there is any reason you need a CDL, it’s the law.

But there are practical reasons, as well, for pursuing a career as a commercial truck driver. For one thing, it’s a construction site position that is in high demand. Finding forklift drivers is as easy as pie. Backhoe drivers are a dime a dozen. Any run-of-the-mill heavy equipment operator can move a scraper. But because you have to have special licensure to become a truck driver, the demand is higher and the qualified applicants are fewer. You’ll instantly stand out in the employment line if you have a commercial driver’s license.

Another reason for obtaining your CDL is the pay. Due to the higher demand and lower supply of qualified truck drivers (most CDL holders go after the adventurous and glamorous long-haul jobs), the pay for these jobs is often higher.

So there are two practical reasons to get your commercial driver’s license. It’s fine to start your career as a heavy equipment operator. But if you want your career to advance beyond the ordinary, get a CDL.

If you’ve been working as a heavy equipment operator and are looking for ways to increase your income, have I some ideas for you. The surest way to increase your income is to specialize in a particular skill. Here are 5 particular heavy equipment skills you can specialize in to increase your work income.

1. Mobile crane – Become a mobile crane operator and you’ll immediately be in demand. That’s because this special skill requires additional education. Get the training to become a mobile crane operator and you’ll see your pay increase.
2. Rigging – Riggers are highly sought after on the construction site. Their job is to ensure safety and to come up with the best ways to lift heavy loads. Riggers can specialize in a particular type of equipment or loads, or they can work in construction at the general level. The higher your specialization the more likely you are in demand for the big bucks.
3. Truck Driving – Truck drivers are highly paid on the construction site, as well. That’s because it’s a special skill with a special license requirement.
4. Get a CDL – Just by holding a commercial drivers license, you make yourself more employable and can demand a higher salary. It’s good that you know how to drive a dump truck. It’s better if you have a CDL to prove it.
5. Become A Certified Signalperson – OSHA has very strict requirements for signalpersons. If you can get your certification, you’ll demand higher pay right off the bat.

There is no substitute for skills and certification. Whether you seek a license or certification, if you specialize in a heavy equipment skill, then you’ll demand higher pay.

Heavy Equipment School has a good list of available jobs this week. We hope you find something you can sink your teeth into. Take a look at these:

• Paw Paw, MI hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Marshfield, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Green Bay, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Prior Lake, MN hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Superior, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Lowell, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Covington, LA hiring mobile crane operators.
• Greenville, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• La Crosse, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Wausau, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• AMHERST, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• OSHKOSH, WI hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• SAN ANTONIO, TX hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• OMAHA, NE hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• San Antonio, TX hiring mobile crane operators.
• Coldwater, MI hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Mt Vernon, IA hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.
• Royersford, PA hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Riverdale, IL hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Ignacio, CO hiring mobile crane operators.
• Marshall, MO hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Wyocena, WI hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Columbia, SC hiring heavy equipment operators.
• Evans City, PA hiring Class-A CDL truck drivers.

Do you see a trend here? All across the country truck driving jobs are opening up. Now is the time to get your truck driver training and set your career on the right path.

Technically, you do not need a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) to operate heavy equipment, it’s true. But if you have your CDL, you are going to be much more valuable to an employer, and it can make the difference between getting hired or getting a raise or staying home looking for work that pays the bills. Because of this, ATS Heavy Equipment Operator Training School includes short-term truck driver training for those who want to take their career to this higher level.

Driving a tractor-trailer to move heavy equipment to the next job site is necessary with anything that uses tracks instead of wheels. This equipment is slow, heavy, and often wide. To take it down the road would tie up traffic and probably mess up the surface. So a flatbed or lowboy trailer is used; the equipment is driven up a ramp, tied down, and moved by towing the trailer. If you can show a CDL and a training certificate from ATS (a respected school in this business), you are ahead of the rest.

In four weeks at the most, you will be prepared to take the CDL road test. You’ll know Department of Transportation rules & regulations, how to drive heavy equipment on roads, how to back heavy equipment, coupling, uncoupling, pre-trip inspections, and all the rest. ATS started out in truck driver training, so we know the value of this skill.

Employers know that value too and are willing to pay more for an employee who can operate heavy equipment plus drive any of the trucks that may be needed to transport it. The more skills you have, the more valuable you are as an employee. Check into our CDL Truck Driving Program and see how you can be the one who gets the job because you have the right training.

Now is the time to think about what you want to do with your career in the coming year. December is often a time of reflection for many people. Truck drivers are no different. Think about this past year and what you want out of the coming year to kick the New Year off right.

If you are thinking about becoming a truck driver, there is no time better than now.

Truck drivers are in high demand and are paid very well. If you have specific skills related to the truck driving profession, then you’ll earn top dollar. These include the ability to load and unload cargo, the freedom to work long haul, and the skills necessary to perform specialized truck driving services such as carrying hazardous materials and running dual trailers. If you own your own rig, you can make big bucks there too.

The question every truck driver must answer – beginner and veteran alike – is this: What do I want for the future?

Answer that question professionally and personally and you’ll be able to chart your course to the next career progression. If you haven’t kick-started your truck driving career yet, you can start right now. Enroll in a truck driving course at the beginning of the year. Then you’ll be poised to have a great profession the rest of your life.

As Baby Boomers begin to retire, more and more truck driving jobs will become available. When they do, that opens the door for more people to step into these jobs. In order to obtain a truck driving job, however, you have to be trained and qualified. You have to earn a Class A CDL license.

It’s not hard to get one either.

On the whole, heavy equipment operators who have a Class A license enjoy a higher income than other operators. Class A drivers are some of the highest paid workers on the job site because they know how to operate more vehicles.

Even if you don’t plan on a career in heavy construction, you can still earn top dollar as a long haul truck driver. And if you own your rig, then you can charge more still.

Some truck drivers have been known to earn six-figure incomes just by hiring themselves out as long haul truck drivers. And if you carry the right freight (i.e. hazardous materials), then you make even more. All it takes is the right training, the right mindset, and the right financial and career strategies to put you in the position of being a top earner.

If you are ready to start your truck driving career, start it today with training that will lead to your obtaining a Class A drivers license.

Truck drivers and heavy equipment operators are in demand this week, so much so that some employers are dropping in to see us in person, looking for recent graduates. If you require more information on these or any other jobs related to truck driving, heavy equipment operations and crane operations, visit our jobs website.

Truck Drivers
Windsor, WI.
Coca Cola hiring local route drivers and you’re home every night.

Truck Drivers
Cheyenne, WY.
Driver IV- CDL DRIVER – PTI Group

Truck Driver
Casper, WY
Driver IV- CDL DRIVER – PTI Group

Heavy Equipment Operators
Cromwell, CT
Heavy equipment operators needed.

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.

Truck Drivers/Heavy Equipment Operators
Wausau, WI.
3M stopped in at ATS and said hiring drivers/operators at Wausau quarry.

Heavy Equipment Operator/CDL Driver & Laborers
Fort Campbell, KY
Construction Company seeking Heavy Equipment Operator experience with Demolition required, a CDL Licensed Driver class B or A is required. Laborers for Demolition job experienced only.

Heavy Equipment Operator
Exeter, NH
Equipment includes loaders, backhoes, dump trucks, excavator, and street sweeper, trucks equipped with snow plows, other snow and ice control activities. Pick and shovel work, jack hammering, asphalt cutting, maintain drainage systems, clean out storm drains, culverts, and ditches, lays brick and block for drainage structures, dig trenches, some masonry, and other duties as required

WA, Tacoma. Check out this HEOP job

TRUCK DRIVER – CDL A: medical card * Boom Truck Driver must have current CDL Class A.

As you can see there is work available for operators and truck drivers. All that you require is the training and, in the case of truck driving, a commercial drivers license which we can help you attain. Check out the latest training programs and training dates by visiting our training school website.

If you have a desire to be a heavy equipment operator, you will need to understand that your role on a construction site goes beyond just operating your equipment. You will often see heavy equipment operator job vacancies that include descriptions such as “and general laboring when required.” Everyone pitches in on a construction site. You cannot just sit in your cab waiting for your next job – you will be expected to get out and help in other areas.

It doesn’t happen all the time, however, you can expect this situation to occur on a regular basis. There are some jobs where you will be working alone, however, in most instances, you will be a part of a team. Sometimes it’s a good idea to wander down to a construction site to watch everyone at work. You will often see heavy equipment operators getting out of their cabs, sometimes only for a few minutes, at other times for an hour or more.

One area that does irk many heavy equipment operators is the constant in-and-out nature of some jobs. This happens frequently on demolition sites where an operator is constantly helping to manually demolish some sections. As a heavy equipment operator, your main focus and time will be on operating your equipment. You will spend 80%-90% of your working time operating that equipment, however, that does mean you’ll spending 10%-20% of your time away from your heavy equipment doing other manual laboring jobs.

For those who have a variety of skills, for example, skills on a range of heavy equipment, truck driving skills, or crane operator skills, then you may find you’re moving between them and your heavy equipment. In most cases, doing a different job can come as a welcome change to what you have repeatedly been doing. You’re part of a team, and that means you pitch in and help out whenever required.

Dump truck drivers often work long hours. For some drivers, it’s a dawn-to-dusk job. For most, it’s an early start and an early finish. Some dump truck drivers are home in time to greet the kids from school – mind you, they have probably left for work in the morning before the kids have woken up.

Kids gain an appreciation for dump trucks and heavy equipment from a young age. Particularly boys, who have sand pits (although these days girls enjoy these toys too). Whilst most children drift away from these toys as they grow up, you’ll be surprised at how often the site of a dump truck tugs on those memories. If you loved playing with those toys as a kid, you probably still have periods where you wonder what it would be like to drive a real dump truck.

You needn’t wonder. You can become a dump truck driver in a matter of weeks. All that is required is the desire and the time to attend to a dump truck driver training course. Once you have the skills and the necessary commercial drivers license, you’ll be ready to start work.

When it comes to truck driving, dump trucks require special skills. Sure, you’ll spend most of your working life driving from A to B, however, it’s what you do when you reach your destination that seperates dump truck drivers from other truck drivers. Dump truck drivers need to know how to use the dumping mechanism – often whilst driving, for example, when spreading gravel over a new road. It takes a lot of skill and knowledge of both your truck and the material you are spreading.

If you’re interested in truck driving but want a job that has you home in time for dinner each night, consider a career as a dump truck driver.