The median annual wage for construction equipment operators was $43,810 in May 2015.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $28,310, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $77,030.
Median annual wages for construction equipment operators in May 2015 were as follows:
Pile-driver operators
$49,430
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
44,600
Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators
38,270
The starting pay for apprentices is usually between 60 percent and 70 percent of what fully trained operators make. They receive pay increases as they learn to operate more complex equipment.
Construction equipment operators may have irregular hours because work on construction projects must sometimes continue around the clock or be done late at night. The vast majority of construction equipment operators work full time.
Union Membership
Compared with workers in all occupations, construction equipment operators had a higher percentage of workers who belonged to a union in 2014. Although no single union covers all operators, the largest organizer of these workers is the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Construction Equipment Operators
Median annual wages, May 2015
Construction equipment operators
$43,810
Construction trades workers
$41,020
Total, all occupations
$36,200
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics