Continuous Mining Machine Operators
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 47-5041.00United States
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,818
- Projected change
- +4.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 15.03K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
85.2% of the workforce
Growing to 15.68K by 2035
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The work
What continuous mining machine operators do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
- Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
- Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
- Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
- Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions.
- Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $46,779
- 25th percentile
- $51,605
- 50th percentile
- $61,818
- 75th percentile
- $77,563
- 90th percentile
- $86,216
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,818 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+4.3%average or slower
202515,034 jobs
2035 projected15,679 jobs
645 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 85.2%
- Certificate
- 9.6%
- Some college
- 5.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
In the market
Job titles and employers
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- 17Heavy Machine Operators1 postings
- 18Mobile Equipment Operators1 postings
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Top employers
- 01Aerotek34 postings
- 02Allan Myers34 postings
- 03Phillips32 postings
- 04Allan A Myers26 postings
- 05Phillips & Jordan19 postings
- 06Fisher Industries14 postings
- 07Zachry Construction Corporation14 postings
- 08Flatiron Construction13 postings
- 09Kiewit Corporation13 postings
- 10TIC12 postings
- 11Thomas Kane & Company12 postings
- 12Granite Construction10 postings
- 13Schafer Excavating10 postings
- 14Staker Parson Companies10 postings
- 15TIC - The Industrial Company10 postings
- 16C.W. Matthews Contracting Co.9 postings
- 17Central Contracting9 postings
- 18CRH plc8 postings
- 19Forgen8 postings
- 20Jennmar Corporation8 postings
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