Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Overview

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has a national median salary of $53,340 per year, with -0.9% 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 equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.

Work Values

• Support
• Relationships
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
• Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
• Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
• Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
• Coordinate truck dumping.

Work Activities

• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment

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.
• Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
• Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 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.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

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 Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators:

Video Resources