How To Become A Roof Bolter Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a roof bolter 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 roof bolter operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.76 an hour? That's $47,351 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 32,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRoof Bolter OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,351

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.11%

Asian 0.56%

Black or African American 2.11%

Hispanic or Latino 9.86%

Unknown 3.87%

White 81.49%

Gender

female 2.19%

male 97.81%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a roof bolter operator

Explore roof bolter operator education requirements

Most common roof bolter operator degrees

High School Diploma

66.7 %

Associate

10.9 %

Diploma

9.5 %

Start to develop specific roof bolter operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Underground Mine	36.40%
Torque Wrenches	18.02%
Buggy	11.45%
Scoops	8.97%
MSHA	7.50%

Complete relevant roof bolter operator training and internships

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

Research roof bolter operator duties and responsibilities

Operate heavy equipment, including power shovels and winches.
Work on various different heavy equipment such as bridges, scoops, shuttle car and continuous miner.
Work on longwall as a stageloader operator.
bolt top for alliance coal and done outby work

Prepare your roof bolter operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your roof bolter 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 roof bolter 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 roof bolter operator resume templates

Build a professional roof bolter 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 roof bolter operator resume.