Best degree programs for Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 50 schools train Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $57,430 median wage, 34,480 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 50 schools train excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining, graduating 1,010 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation. The job pays a median of $57,430 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining 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 | $47,100 | 1,440 | 3.80× | 5 | 100 |
| Louisianalimited | $53,510 | 280 | 0.65× | 1 | 84 |
| Indianalimited | $61,910 | 1,530 | 2.16× | 1 | 80 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $58,280 | 990 | 1.51× | 3 | 77 |
| Californiamoderate | $74,500 | 790 | 0.19× | 3 | 76 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $52,350 | 1,520 | 1.13× | 3 | 65 |
| Ohio | $58,240 | 1,120 | 0.91× | 5 | 57 |
| Minnesotalimited | $61,260 | 520 | 0.79× | 1 | 55 |
| Missourilimited | $56,760 | 310 | 0.48× | 1 | 54 |
| Utahlimited | $54,330 | 400 | 1.05× | 2 | 53 |
| Mississippimoderate | $48,490 | 290 | 1.12× | 3 | 45 |
| New Yorklimited | $58,120 | 1,490 | 0.69× | 1 | 33 |
| South Dakotalimited | $48,250 | 280 | 2.74× | 1 | 31 |
| Kentuckylimited | $47,780 | 790 | 1.79× | 1 | 29 |
| Arkansaslimited | $46,170 | 250 | 0.87× | 2 | 27 |
| Arizonalimited | $60,310 | 560 | 0.78× | 1 | 23 |
| Kansaslimited | $48,950 | 270 | 0.85× | 2 | 23 |
| Montanamoderate | $65,850 | 150 | 1.35× | 3 | 22 |
| Floridamoderate | $51,990 | 1,480 | 0.67× | 4 | 19 |
| North Carolinalimited | $58,620 | — | — | 1 | 17 |
| Nebraskalimited | $58,370 | 300 | 1.31× | 1 | 14 |
| Mainelimited | $55,890 | 230 | 1.60× | 1 | 8 |
| North Dakotalimited | $90,380 | 220 | 2.31× | 1 | 7 |
| Iowalimited | $59,390 | 560 | 1.62× | 1 | 6 |
| Texaslimited | $49,000 | 5,030 | 1.61× | 1 | 4 |
| Nevadalimited | $63,810 | 730 | 2.11× | 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
- Move levers, depress foot pedals, and turn dials to operate power machinery, such as power shovels, stripping shovels, scraper loaders, or backhoes.
- Set up or inspect equipment prior to operation.
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines so that work can be performed to specifications.
- Operate machinery to perform activities such as backfilling excavations, vibrating or breaking rock or concrete, or making winter roads.
- Receive written or oral instructions regarding material movement or excavation.
- Move materials over short distances, such as around a construction site, factory, or warehouse.
- Create or maintain inclines or ramps.
Skills
- Monitoring3.1
- Active Listening3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Writing2.5
- Learning Strategies2.4
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical3.2
- Building and Construction3.2
- Public Safety and Security3.0
- English Language2.6
- Mathematics2.6
- Design2.4
Abilities
- Control Precision4.1
- Multilimb Coordination4.1
- Depth Perception4.0
- Manual Dexterity3.9
- Reaction Time3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.8
Core activities
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.6
- Controlling Machines and Processes4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.4
- Handling and Moving Objects4.2
- Getting Information4.1
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Excavating
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
- 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 Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining1 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 an Excavating?+
High school diploma or equivalent 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 an Excavating?+
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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining earn?+
The median is $57,430 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $41,600 at the 10th percentile to $82,400 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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining growing?+
BLS projects a -0.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,100 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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Dragline Oiler, Loader Operator, Dragline Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 47-5022.
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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