Career
Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators
Run the machines that pave roads.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
- Coordinate truck dumping.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Repairing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $53,340 a year and 3,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment OperationCIP 49.0202
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Construction Laborers$47,120 · +7.3%
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,850 · +4.6%
- Segmental Pavers
- Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers$57,020 · +1.6%
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining$57,430 · +1.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.