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What Does it Take to Be a Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operator?

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

Daily Life Of a Paving, Surfacing & Tamping Equipment Operator

Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools.
Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
Set up and tear down equipment.
Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.
Shovel blacktop.

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Paving, Surfacing & Tamping Equipment Operator Required Skills

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

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

Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

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

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

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

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Traveling Plant Operator
Mechanical Spreader Operator
Asphalt Paver
Concrete and Asphalt Equipment Crew Member
Road Packer Operator

Job Demand for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

In the United States, there were 51,900 jobs for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operator in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 12.1% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 6,300 new jobs for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operator by 2026. The BLS estimates 6,200 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Paving, Surfacing & Tamping Equipment Operator are Utah, Arizona, and Florida. Watch out if you plan on working in Maine, New Mexico, or Hawaii. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Paving, Surfacing & Tamping Equipment Operator Average Salary

The typical yearly salary for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators is somewhere between $27,260 and $70,710.

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators who work in Oregon, Illinois, or Alaska, make the highest salaries.

How much do Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators make in each U.S. state?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Alabama	$37,450
Alaska	$66,250
Arizona	$41,500
Arkansas	$33,930
California	$58,370
Colorado	$45,310
Connecticut	$52,100
Delaware	$44,860
District of Columbia	$51,770
Florida	$34,460
Georgia	$36,630
Idaho	$37,970
Illinois	$59,540
Indiana	$42,760
Iowa	$44,360
Kansas	$39,470
Kentucky	$39,530
Louisiana	$43,110
Maine	$38,720
Maryland	$43,140
Massachusetts	$60,260
Michigan	$48,190
Minnesota	$55,280
Mississippi	$33,400
Missouri	$49,060
Montana	$47,310
Nebraska	$35,450
Nevada	$55,890
New Hampshire	$42,850
New Jersey	$49,540
New Mexico	$40,010
New York	$59,100
North Carolina	$37,040
North Dakota	$49,800
Ohio	$51,240
Oklahoma	$36,160
Oregon	$64,000
Pennsylvania	$43,890
South Carolina	$35,300
South Dakota	$43,560
Tennessee	$34,840
Texas	$38,770
Utah	$45,210
Virginia	$34,170
Washington	$66,520
West Virginia	$38,940
Wisconsin	$43,790
Wyoming	$47,000

What Tools do Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators Use?

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators may use on a daily basis:

Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Outlook
Email software
Word processing software
Spreadsheet software
Database software
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
HCSS HeavyBid

Becoming a Paving, Surfacing & Tamping Equipment Operator

Education needed to be a Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operator:

How many years of work experience do I need?

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References:

Image Credit: Hic85 via Public Domain

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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