How To Become A Coal Equipment Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a coal equipment operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a coal equipment operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.85 an hour? That's $43,372 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 22,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCoal Equipment OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,372

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.01%

Asian 0.90%

Black or African American 5.78%

Hispanic or Latino 12.74%

Unknown 4.35%

White 74.21%

Gender

female 2.70%

male 97.30%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

0.1

Work life balance is

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a coal equipment operator

Explore coal equipment operator education requirements

Most common coal equipment operator degrees

High School Diploma

60.9 %

Associate

17.4 %

Bachelor's

8.7 %

Start to develop specific coal equipment operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Loaders	46.53%
End Loaders	20.18%
General Maintenance	17.71%
Bulldozers	11.07%
Fuel Samples	4.51%

Complete relevant coal equipment operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New coal equipment operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a coal equipment operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real coal equipment operator resumes.

Research coal equipment operator duties and responsibilities

Operate loaders, bulldozers, and dump truck
Operate loaders, bulldozer, dump truck, road grader.
Drive a truck with a capacity of at least 80,000 GVW, to transport coal and rock in loose form.
Follow all power equipment rules and regulation including any regulatory agency policies to include OSHA.

Prepare your coal equipment operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your coal equipment operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a coal equipment operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable coal equipment operator resume templates

Build a professional coal equipment operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your coal equipment operator resume.