by 
You should be a very dedicated person if you want to excel in the heavy equipment operator program.
Usually, it will take you about 1-2 months of full-time training to get your certification in this sphere.
After completing a good program, you will have all the required skills to get an entry-level job as a heavy equipment operator.
Article Table of Contents
What Will You Actually Be Doing During Your Training?
Applying for a heavy equipment machinery operator program, every week you’ll be learning various aspects of this career including required skills and safety issues.
Also, you’ll learn numerous operating techniques as well as get some preventive maintenance skills required for your future career.
Moreover, each good training program should also include a bunch of hands-on training.
When it comes to practice, it is important to have an opportunity to work with actual machinery so you can understand properly how it works.
Only a well-balanced program that combines theory and practice can allow you to succeed in your future career.
One other significant point about a good heavy machinery operator program is that it should be accredited by the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER).
According to the NCCER, there are 3 levels of heavy equipment operators and only accredited programs cover all these levels.
All these aspects are very important for your future career but still there one more important question.
What pieces of the heavy equipment you’ll be able to operate after completing your training?
Below, we’ve gathered a list of this equipment and e description of each piece.
Backhoes
Lots of us for sure saw this equipment at least once but didn’t know its name.
Backhoe is a piece of machinery that remains a huge mechanical spider and is widely used on any construction site.
It has a whole variety of functions including trench digging, trees uprooting, road grading, snow plowing, and so on.
In fact, this piece of heavy machinery can be found on any construction site.
As a result, it is always included in heavy machinery operator training programs.
Dozers
Dozers are also known as bulldozers and used to move things that are hard or almost impossible to move.
It is often used to move huge rocks on farms and road construction sites.
In simple words, this piece of machinery can dig and move huge and heavy objects on short distances.
Dozers are also widely used on construction sites so it is an essential part of every heavy machinery operator program.
Graders
Graders have a more specific list of uses due to its construction.
This piece of machinery has a long blade that is used to create flat surfaces.
Usually, graders are widely used during roads paving so they are also known as road graders.
Graders flat the surface before asphalt application to make it smooth and even.
It should be mentioned that a grader is a very precise machine that helps to finish a project and ensure that other steps are completed seamlessly.
Excavators
Excavators are huge machines that dig numerous holes and tranches.
It is the only function of this equipment and it is often used on different construction sites.
In fact, all of us seen it in our childhood and maybe even played with a toy excavator while digging holes in the dirt.
This equipment is widely used in housing projects, road construction, building construction, forestry work, large utility projects, and more.
Loaders
It is another piece of heavy machinery that all of us know well.
The only function of this machine is to load up various heavy materials and move them around a site.
Usually, it is used to move dirt, debris, snow, gravel, logs, recycled material, and sand.
In fact, this equipment is used not only on construction sites but for many other purposes as well.
It is often used by various organizations that clean streets after different natural disasters such as hurricanes.
Also, it is very popular in the logging industry as well as the waste management industry.
Skills to operate this machine can provide you with numerous incredible job options.
Skid Steer
While having a somehow strange name that sounds like the name of an animal, this equipment is very useful and widely used.
The reason for its popularity is its incredible lifting capacity and amazing maneuverability.
There are different skid steers of different sizes.
Depending on its size, a skid steer can be used for post hole digging, landscaping, debris removal, and demolition.
This equipment is extremely useful when the work should be done within a small space with limited access.
You need to know that you need lots of skills to deal with this equipment as it is really hard to operate a skid steer.
It uses different steering and it turns due to operating the left and right wheel pairs at different speeds.
Considering its specific structure, this machine can ride even on the ground with a zero-radius turning possibility.
If you know how to operate this equipment, you’ll be able to find various great jobs.
As you can see, Heavy Machinery Operator training programs cover numerous types of important equipment.
After completing your training, you’ll be able to operate all of them which means that you’ll have more job options.
You need to keep in mind that such training is absolutely worth your time and money as it can lead you to a successful career.
Read the full guide: How to Become a Heavy Equipment Operator