Talk to your school counselor about programs and classes like woodworking that are offered at your school so you can start learning skills that will get you started in this field.

Find a class to jump-start your construction skills.

Look into training and apprenticeship programs to help you gain experience in this trade career. Check out OPCMIA or research training programs in your area.

Research cement mason apprenticeship programs.

Search online for how-to videos to see how hard this work is to master--and whether it's something you think you'd like. Does seeing this kind of work in action make you more interested in trying it?

Watch tutorials on how to do this kind of work.

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.

The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.

The ability to see details at a distance.

The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Realistic

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Conventional

Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.

Investigative

Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art.

Artistic

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

Enterprising

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Social

Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Construction Equipment Operators

Construction and Extraction Occupations

Construction Trades Workers

Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.

Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.

Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.

Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.

Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.

Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.

Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.

Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.

Email software

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office software

Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D

Time report software

Database software

Warehouse management system WMS

HCSS HeavyBid

Automatic paving control systems

Concrete paving machines

Robotic paving machines

Rubber-track asphalt pavers

Manual rollers

Pneumatic rollers

Static rollers

Vibratory rollers

Asphalt mixing equipment

Hot mix material transfer devices

Self-propelled material transfer devices

Windrow pickup machines

Asphalt distributor trucks

Liquid asphalt storage equipment

Oil distributors

Paving finishing machines

Power extendable screeds

Paving curbing machines

Slip form machines

Snowplows

Surveying tapes

Straight screwdrivers

Motor graders

Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

How frequently does your job require face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams?

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams

Once a year or more but not every month

How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?

Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions

Once a month or more but not every week

How often does this job require exposure to hazardous equipment?

Once a week or more but not every day

How often does this job require exposure to whole body vibration (like operating a jackhammer or earth moving equipment)?

Every day

How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?

How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?

Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable

How often does this job require working in an open vehicle or operating equipment (like a tractor)?

In an Open Vehicle or Operating Equipment

How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?

Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls

How often does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats or life-jackets?

Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets

How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Overview

Career

What Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators Do

Other Job Titles Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Overview

Career

What Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators Do

Other Job Titles Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Education

Level of Education Attained by Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Majors Related to Career

Related Leaders