Skilled Trades
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
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.
Median salary
$51,650
Typical range
$38k – $90k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Entry / Junior
$38,030
~2 yrs to advance
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Established
$51,650
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Senior
$70,880
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.