Who's on the clock?

What can operating engineers and other construction equipment operators switch to?

The closest match is rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators, paying about 17% more at the median. 10 jobs in all use similar skills with less of the shift touched by AI or robots.

Time card for rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators: 2h 31m of an 8-hour shift touched by AI or robotsTime card: Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators →

Home / Next job / Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

What can operating engineers and other construction equipment operators switch to? AI or robots touch about 5h 28m of a typical 8-hour shift for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, nearly all of it on tasks AI or robots have done on their own somewhere. The jobs below use many of the same skills, and less of their day is touched today. The closest fit is rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators: 2h 31m touched, with median pay 17% higher.

Matches come from O*NET's ratings of the skills, knowledge and work activities each job uses. "To build up" lists the skills each option rates as clearly more important than operating engineers and other construction equipment operators do today. "Touched" is time on tasks with documented AI use or robots working in real workplaces. Treat these as starting points: pay, openings and requirements differ by state.

Sort by

Same training or less

HumanWith AIAIRobot
  1. Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment OperatorsClose skills · 2h 31m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $70k · +1.5% by 2035 · high school diploma, some trainingShared skills: Equipment Maintenance, Operation and Control, RepairingTo build up: Operations Monitoring
  2. Construction LaborersClose skills · 1h 35m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $47k · +7.3% by 2035 · high school diploma, some trainingShared skills: Operation and Control, Equipment Selection, Equipment MaintenanceNo big skill gaps
  3. Roustabouts, Oil and GasClose skills · 28m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $47k · +3.6% by 2035 · little or no preparationShared skills: Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Equipment SelectionNo big skill gaps
  4. Helpers for Extraction WorkersClose skills · 2h 29m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $48k · +1.7% by 2035 · high school diploma, some trainingShared skills: Equipment Maintenance, Operation and Control, RepairingTo build up: Equipment Selection, Monitoring, Repairing
  5. Grinding and Polishing Workers, HandClose skills · 18m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $43k · -19.2% by 2035 · high school diploma, some trainingShared skills: Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, TroubleshootingTo build up: Quality Control Analysis
  6. Logging Equipment OperatorsRelated skills · 1h 37m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $50k · -3.8% by 2035 · little or no preparationShared skills: Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, RepairingTo build up: Operations Monitoring
  7. Earth DrillersRelated skills · 3h 38m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $60k · +3.6% by 2035 · high school diploma, some trainingShared skills: Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, RepairingTo build up: Operations Monitoring, Equipment Selection
  8. Floor Sanders and FinishersRelated skills · 0m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $50k · +1.4% by 2035 · little or no preparationShared skills: Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, Equipment SelectionNo big skill gaps

With more training

  1. Crane and Tower OperatorsRelated skills · 52m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $68k · +3.8% by 2035 · vocational school or associate's degreeShared skills: Operation and Control, Repairing, Equipment MaintenanceTo build up: Operations Monitoring
  2. Maintenance and Repair Workers, GeneralRelated skills · 11m touched (vs 5h 28m) · $50k · +4.2% by 2035 · vocational school or associate's degreeShared skills: Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, TroubleshootingTo build up: Installation, Repairing, Troubleshooting

Before you switch

See the full time card for operating engineers and other construction equipment operators first: many tasks there still need a person, and learning AI tools for the rest can be its own way forward. For pay where you live, open any job above and pick your state.