Also called: Aggregate Plant Operator, Crushing Plant Operator
Runs the crushers, screens and conveyors at quarries and gravel pits that turn boulders into the gravel used in roads and concrete.
From a control booth above the quarry, you watch boulders tumble into a jaw crusher and adjust settings to make the right gravel sizes. When a conveyor belt jams, you climb down, lock out the power and clear it.
Estimated; quarry workers often get overtime.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school plus on-the-job training and MSHA safety training.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Heavy Equipment Operations, Mining Technology.
Growing about average. Road and building construction need steady gravel supply.
Medium risk for 10 years. Plants add automated controls; fewer operators watch more machines, but repairs stay hands-on.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to quarries and gravel pits for plant laborer or crusher trainee jobs; the mine trains you
Classes: Earth science, Auto or small engines, Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-5022.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.