Dredge Operators

Overview

Dredge Operators has a national median salary of $49,640 per year, with +0.7% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.

Work Values

• Support
• Relationships
• Working Conditions

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Move levers to position dredges for excavation, to engage hydraulic pumps, to raise and lower suction booms, and to control rotation of cutterheads.
• Start and stop engines to operate equipment.
• Start power winches that draw in or let out cables to change positions of dredges, or pull in and let out cables manually.
• Pump water to clear machinery pipelines.
• Lower anchor poles to verify depths of excavations, using winches, or scan depth gauges to determine depths of excavations.

Work Activities

• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Getting Information
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

Detailed Work Activities

• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a high school diploma or equivalent.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Dredge Operators:

Video Resources