Best degree programs for Continuous Mining Machine Operators, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 50 schools train Continuous Mining Machine Operators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $61,810 median wage, 14,000 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 50 schools train continuous mining machine operators, graduating 1,010 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation. The job pays a median of $61,810 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About continuous mining machine operators
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 49.0202 | 1,010 | 100.0% | 50 | $42,812 | $7,572 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What continuous mining machine operators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $46,980 | 310 | 2.04× | 5 | 100 |
| Indianalimited | $71,570 | 170 | 0.58× | 1 | 80 |
| Californiamoderate | $62,790 | 940 | 0.57× | 3 | 76 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $60,780 | 510 | 0.93× | 3 | 65 |
| Ohio | $58,030 | 260 | 0.51× | 5 | 57 |
| Minnesotalimited | $90,820 | 420 | 1.58× | 1 | 55 |
| Missourilimited | $47,280 | 920 | 3.47× | 1 | 54 |
| Utahlimited | $59,420 | 890 | 5.72× | 2 | 53 |
| New Yorklimited | $46,450 | 180 | 0.21× | 1 | 33 |
| Kentuckylimited | $50,020 | 390 | 2.18× | 1 | 29 |
| Arkansaslimited | $47,890 | 80 | 0.68× | 2 | 27 |
| Arizonalimited | $60,880 | 2,850 | 9.76× | 1 | 23 |
| Floridamoderate | $62,580 | 230 | 0.25× | 4 | 19 |
| North Carolinalimited | $59,030 | 230 | 0.52× | 1 | 17 |
| Nebraskalimited | $51,760 | 70 | 0.79× | 1 | 14 |
| Texaslimited | $48,950 | 390 | 0.31× | 1 | 4 |
| Nevadalimited | $85,590 | 1,110 | 7.95× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
- Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
- Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Monitoring3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Active Learning2.8
- Reading Comprehension2.8
- Learning Strategies2.4
- Writing2.1
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical3.9
- Production and Processing3.7
- Law and Government3.4
- Education and Training3.3
- English Language2.8
- Administration and Management2.8
Abilities
- Control Precision4.0
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.9
- Reaction Time3.8
- Multilimb Coordination3.8
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Near Vision3.6
Core activities
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.3
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.1
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.0
- Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment3.9
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates3.9
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Continuous Mining Machine Operator
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Continuous Mining Machine Operators1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 49.0202Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Continuous Mining Machine Operator?+
No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation, which awarded 1,010 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Continuous Mining Machine Operator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Ground Transportation. Together they graduate about 1,010 people a year.
How much do continuous mining machine operators earn?+
The median is $61,810 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $46,770 at the 10th percentile to $86,210 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for continuous mining machine operators growing?+
BLS projects a +0.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
50 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do continuous mining machine operators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Miner Operator, Continuous Miner Operator (CMO), Continuous Mining Operator (CMO), Continuous Mining Machine Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 47-5041.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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