How did YOU became an operator?

G day All.
I'm currently days away from finishing school. My life long dream has always been to become a heavy equipment operator (particularly excavator) since i was a kid and now I've done some growing and am still just as passionate. I dont know if this is relatable but when i was younger i would regularly ride my bike to construction sites when they were working and just sit and watch the machinery work. I still to this day get enjoyment out of watching them work and constantly dream about operating them. Ive done some research recently and am seriously struggling to find how you become an operator?
I'm pretty keen and am not afraid to put in some physical labor. If anyone has some advice and tips or how you personally became an operator I'd love to know.

Cheers guys

Get a crew cut, beer gut and criminal record, and you'll be set for life... Just kidding

Seriously, get a job in the field, tell your boss you want to learn to be a machine operator. If you show up on time, and prove to be dependable, and have a good record at the job, I can't imagine you will be turned down...

DIYDAVE said:

Get a crew cut, beer gut and criminal record, and you'll be set for life... Just kidding

Seriously, get a job in the field, tell your boss you want to learn to be a machine operator. If you show up on time, and prove to be dependable, and have a good record at the job, I can't imagine you will be turned down...

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And don't expect to get a seat in a new machine the first day on the job. Might have to spend a couple years with a wooden handled shovel in your hands. If company says wear hard hat and glasses all the time on job do it.

Leave cell phone in your car, we lived for decades without them, you can make it through a work shift without one! If someone really needs to contact you have them call the company office and they will get in touch with you!

These ideas are not just aimed at getting to operate a machine but work anywhere in just about any company.

CANNOT reinforce what has been stated any harder!! I did the same in the early 60's watching Glosier Construction operators run belly pans, old open station articulated rubber tire cats as push tractors, using wheel trenchers to set sewer lines and sat watching them offering cold water on hot days as I could to get a little guy some seat time on huge machines with REAL operators. Illegal as hell and loved every minute of it!

Offer to come in at whatever low level they will hire, accept the dirt, grunge and hard effort as it will get you where you want to go. Today's operators also get schooling once in the 'Hall' and card carrying so they can qualify as 'Trainees' on machines, takes time but time well spent.

I really appreciate the replies so far.

Sometimes when bigger jobs are starting it is a good chance to get hired on.
Maybe show up every day before work starts to see if they need someone.
If they realize you will show up every day without any drama, and they have an empty seat, you might get it.

All good advice here. One to add is when they ask you if you have experience be honest with them. Nothing worse than putting a person on a machine with expectations that can not be realized. Be happy when they put you on a compactor or a roller. Its a more important job than most realize. Another thing as stated, safety glasses and hardhat when they tell you to and show up wearing long pants, work shoes, and 3 inch sleeves on your t-shirt. You would not get on our jobs with out that.

One other method that some of us had access to, is to simply spend a large part of any savings you have on buying a worn out version of what you are interested in, and the rest of your savings on parts to try and keep it running. If you have a situation where you can store it, and even better somewhere to run it, you can learn about it in your own time. That's how I started 30 years ago and maybe still am doing it today to a degree when it comes to getting into an aspect of work that haven't done before ( hopefully with less worn out kit than what I started with!)

Think you have to be fairly keen, and have the right circumstances, but it can produce very capable operators.

old-iron-habit said:

. One to add is when they ask you if you have experience be honest with them. Nothing worse than putting a person on a machine with expectations that can not be realized. Be happy when they put you on a compactor or a roller. Its a more important job than most realize. Another thing as stated, safety glasses and hardhat when they tell you to and show up wearing long pants, work shoes, and 3 inch sleeves on your t-shirt. You would not get on our jobs with out that.

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Old Iron nailed it.

More than once I've hired "experienced" operators only to find out they couldn't make the blade or bucket hit the ground consistently after bragging about how good of an operator they are. Like OIH said there is nothing worse, those guys did not stick around.

Be honest that you don't have experience but want to learn. Show them with your work ethic your serious, in this day and age a youngster who is not afraid to work is like gold.

Case in point I saw today. I have a young kid that is not afraid to do anything we ask him to do, hard damn worker. We're doing a small job hauling off some spoils in a new residential subdivision. The super put him on the 953 shuttling dirt from the cut to a pile it, to be loaded out. I watched him operate for a few minutes and asked the super has he ever been on the loader before? Super replied, nope first time. HMMM I thought as I watched him go from the cut to the pile.

At quitting time I asked the young operator if he'd ever been on a 953 before, knowing the answer. He replied - it's my first time but the loader control is just like a backhoe. I told him good job, we're going to put you on the loader more. The kid has the knack for it, smoother than I was when I first got in the seat of a 953.

We never know how it's going to work out until you jump right in and give it a try.

Some are just naturals!!

I think that's a big part of it, DMiller.

+1 on being honest about your experience. Nothing wrong with saying you're fascinated by the machines and would like to learn to operate them. Better to surprise a potential employer than say you've run equipment and can't back it up. Sitting in a machine and using the controls for 10 minutes doesn't count as experience but if you've ran a truck or tractor on the farm for sure mention it. Some people do have a knack for operating and some should stay as far away as possible.

DMiller said:

Some are just naturals!!

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I've been fortunate to run across a few in my career DMiller. Actually fascinates me as I had to work the skills to become a proficient operator.

One kid we had 10 years ago had the knack as well. Noticed he could keep a rock fill lift going correctly and efficient. He would position the trucks, keep the large rocks pushed off the face and kept the fines to fill in as the lift progressed. He had very little experience on equipment when we hired him.

So we had a 27 lot subdivision that was ready to grade for curb and gutter. Talked with my super and we decided to baptize him by fire. Sent the D5G and him to the project. I met him there and told him to grade the road out following the stakes and make the water go towards the inlets. Then I left.

Came back 2 days later, letting him do it right by himself and it was beautiful. The roads flowed smoothly and even had a crown in the middle. I got out of the truck and asked him - "You can see grade can't you." He just shrugged his shoulders rather sheepishly and said "I guess". Told him -"Keep it up, good damn job." Just a natural.

Got partly blinded in my left eye in '87, I can now see grade, hard to describe but with no depth perception of any value I can cut to a finite dimension I could not before then. Cut our foundation hole with the worn out Allis, was within 1/2" end to end per the concrete contractor, not bad for a 'one eyed fat boy'!! I can see off level, pisses me off when someone says a job is done and I can see is not.

I can never attain a 2A cert due to my left eye. 20/100 on bad days 20/50 on good ones, close but no cigar but can run internal building cranes/fixed cranes. Got pretty adept at putting new nuclear fuel into the plant and receipt of same, my supervisors 'had never seen anyone so at ease and connective with the facility's contrary installed cranes'. Could set a 14' 11x11" assembly in a 11 1/2"x11 1/2" box almost without assistance on the floor guiding it. Could pull and set shipping casks as if I could feel them on the hook, other crew mates hated when someone else ran the cranes.

I took a heavy equipment course in college along with surveying, got a job leveling land which is big in our valley, making big money $3.25 LOL, June 1974

I was born into a Grading/Excavating family. When I was old enough to talk and wipe my own butt I rode the grader at least every other day with my Grandfather , he was a finish grade artist. When I was 7 I was allowed to play with the JD backhoe loader in the sand pit... by 10 Dad had me pushing sand dunes with a 9G, by 13 I was on a twin engine elevating scraper. Not sure how I became an operator. Later I found out there was more money in fixing the stuff than running it. I still play in the dirt when I can.

RZucker said:

I was born into a Grading/Excavating family. When I was old enough to talk and wipe my own butt I rode the grader at least every other day with my Grandfather , he was a finish grade artist. When I was 7 I was allowed to play with the JD backhoe loader in the sand pit... by 10 Dad had me pushing sand dunes with a 9G, by 13 I was on a twin engine elevating scraper. Not sure how I became an operator. Later I found out there was more money in fixing the stuff than running it. I still play in the dirt when I can.

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Pretty much my story, except add about 3 years to each step. Repowered a IH 2600 with a Cummins 8.3 when I was 15, went through Diesel Tech at NDSCS, now I'm the fixer AND the operator.

DPete said:

I took a heavy equipment course in college along with surveying, got a job leveling land which is big in our valley, making big money $3.25 LOL, June 1974

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I started about the same time DPete .

Cant think of a better way to start out then a Terex TS 14 . LOL !

http://www.heavytruckforums.com/showthread.php?263-Some-Holmes-750-action&p=2598&viewfull=1#post2598

td25c said:

I started about the same time DPete .

Cant think of a better way to start out then a Terex TS 14 . LOL !

http://www.heavytruckforums.com/showthread.php?263-Some-Holmes-750-action&p=2598&viewfull=1#post2598

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No foam ear plugs in those days, had a box of cotton in the tool box for ear protection, I ran a 14A D8, they had a straight pipe off the manifold + squeaking tracks, just about the same db as your Jimmy. Thought we died and went to heaven when the foam plugs came out.