Inspect the machine for wear
You look the machine over before running it, hunting for worn or damaged parts that need attention.
Career profile
Surface Mining Excavation Operator
Surface mining machine operators dig and move material with excavators, loaders and draglines.
Emptying a bucket of rock calls for care. Your hands work the controls while your eyes track the loading area and coworkers close by.
A day in the life
Load rock into a truck
Fill a truck with rock, watching the loading spot and following hand signals as you work the bucket.
Separate coal from waste
For certain coal mining roles, you follow a dig plan to recover coal and set waste aside.
Watch the panel for warnings
Keep glancing at the machine's panel for trouble or service signs so issues get handled mid-shift.
Quick facts
High school + work training
United States · 2025
$57,430 median
United States · 2025
1% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + work trainingA diploma or equivalent, related experience, and on-the-job training are typical. Hiring requirements vary.
Pay
$57,430 medianNational annual median in 2025; the hourly median was $27.61.
Outlook
1% projected growthAbout 2,400 openings a year are projected nationally over 2025–2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy getting repeated movements precise.
- You notice when a machine behaves differently.
- You can stay attentive while doing familiar work.
Things to weigh
- Noise, vibration, and weather exposure can make the work tiring.
- Some coal-mine jobs rotate through days and nights and include weekends or holidays.
Where AI may help
Some hydraulic mining shovels combine camera views around the machine and automatically soften the movement of the digging arm near its limits.
What people still lead
You still plan the digging, watch changing conditions, and respond when the machine shows trouble.
What we can’t predict yet
More of the dig, swing, and dump cycle may become automated. How much control moves away from the cab will vary with equipment and mine operations.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use the national figures as a reference when comparing offers, not as a starting-pay promise.
The middle of the pay range
The 2025 median was $57,430 a year, or $27.61 an hour, for surface-mining excavating, loading-machine, and dragline operators.
The spread is substantial
The lowest-paid 10% earned $41,600 or less annually; the highest-paid 10% earned $82,400 or more. These are wage percentiles, not beginner and experienced-worker rates.
Slow growth still leaves openings
Employment is projected to grow 1% during 2025–2035, with about 2,400 openings a year nationwide. Openings include replacement needs as well as growth.
Getting started
Learn through a quarry employer
- What the route involves
- Look for work that includes operator training. At Part 46 mines, machine practice can take place under the close observation of a competent trainer.
- What it can lead to
- You build the machine-specific skills needed to perform the loading tasks in that job.
- What to check
- Required new-miner instruction comes before work begins, with further training completed on the required schedule. Task training addresses the equipment you will actually operate.
Build skills in a surface-mine course
The University of Alaska Fairbanks course lists two weeks and 140 hours in Delta Junction, Alaska.
- What the route involves
- Practice surface-mine equipment operation, light maintenance, and safe work in a training setting. The University of Alaska Fairbanks offers this route for people seeking mining work.
- What it can lead to
- You gain preparation for entry-level surface-mine work and experience with the routines of a remote worksite.
- What to check
- Training on one machine does not cover every machine: Part 46 requires instruction on the unique operating characteristics of equipment you move to.
Check which Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) training applies before choosing a course: stone, sand, and gravel mines generally use Part 46; surface coal and other mines fall under Part 48.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get consistent
Make inspections and controlled loading dependable habits.
Handle more of the material flow
In quarry work, broaden into feeding the processing plant and handling different sizes of stone without mixing up stockpiles.
Help newer operators learn
Experienced production operators may take on training junior workers, explaining how they plan a dig and recognize equipment problems.
Where you can work
Stone quarries
Your loader may serve customer trucks and feed crushing or screening equipment. Some jobs also include plant upkeep, so the shift reaches beyond the cab.
- Outdoors
- Vehicle
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Surface coal mines
Digging focuses on recovering coal and putting waste in the right place. Large operations can require rotating shifts, including nights and holidays.
- Outdoors
- Vehicle
- Shift work
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Watch a video of an excavator loading a mine haul truck. Sketch the bucket’s route through three loading cycles and note what the operator must watch besides the bucket. Does that mix of repetition and attention appeal to you?
Stay safe: Keep this an observation exercise; do not enter a mine or try operating equipment.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National wages for occupation 47-5022.00. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- Peabody. NARM – Experienced Production Dozer/Backhoe Equipment Operator. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- CRH. Loader Operator – Franklin NC. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- Caterpillar. Enabled by Technology: Next Generation Hydraulic Mining Shovels. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration. Part 46 or Part 48. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration. Part 46 Compliance Guideline: New Miner Training. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration. Part 46 Compliance Guideline: New Task Training. Accessed 2026-10-05.
- University of Alaska Fairbanks. Mining and Petroleum Training Service: Industry Training Camps. Accessed 2026-10-05.