Make a Living Playing in the Dirt!
Did you like to play with tractors, bulldozers, and shovels as a kid? Get paid for it now! Graduates from Lake Area Technical College’s new Heavy Equipment Operator program will enter into a field that has a high-demand for qualified workers in commercial and industrial construction, heavy equipment operation, and earthmoving equipment operation.
Students entering our new Heavy Equipment Operator program will choose from a diploma in Excavation Operations after 11 months or an Associate of Applied Science degree in Heavy Equipment Operations after completing the entire 20-month curriculum.
First year students will learn:
- To maintain and repair tracks, wheels, brakes, operating controls, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, electrical circuitry, and engines
- Basic skills in excavating, digging, ditching, grading, and backfilling
Second year students will learn:
- To operate and maintain a variety of heavy equipment such as crawler tractors, motor graders and scrapers, shovels, rigging devices, hoists, and jacks
- Basic skills in digging, ditching, sloping, stripping, grading, backfilling, clearing, crane operation, and excavating
Lake Area Technical College grads are averaging $24.23 per hour in this field and that’s just six months after graduation. Additionally, people retiring from this field will create even more job opportunities for new graduates
