How To Become A Grading Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a grading machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a grading machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.67 an hour? That's $49,238 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -8% and produce -83,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreGrading Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $49,238

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.4

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.22%

Asian 8.02%

Black or African American 11.60%

Hispanic or Latino 18.87%

Unknown 3.43%

White 56.85%

Gender

female 18.24%

male 81.76%

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

4.4

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a grading machine operator

Explore grading machine operator education requirements

Most common grading machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

37.7 %

Associate

21.3 %

Bachelor's

18.0 %

Start to develop specific grading machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	48.11%
Quality Checks	14.85%
RAN	14.31%
Plant Operations	7.88%
SCADA	7.43%

Complete relevant grading machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New grading machine 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 grading machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real grading machine operator resumes.

Research grading machine operator duties and responsibilities

Experience with safe handling procedures and PPE for various hazordous chemical such as hypochlorite, bisulfite, ferric and polymer.
Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.
Manufacture ammunition from components using a power loading machine.

Prepare your grading machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your grading machine 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 grading machine 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 grading machine operator resume templates

Build a professional grading machine 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 grading machine operator resume.