Enrolling in a course offered by a heavy equipment operator school in Indiana is the initial state in getting into this rewarding career.
Specialized skills are required to operate different types of equipment. In order to acquire those skills, you need to be properly trained and certified. Developing your abilities is the key to get a job as an operator.
The heavy equipment training school will educate you in every aspect to learn the ability to operate such machinery.
But before you enroll for a course, you may be asking if being a heavy equipment operator is the right job for you, here's an article discussing that: Is Becoming a Heavy Equipment Operator the Right Job for You?
If you are looking for a school to enroll in, below are the schools where you can take the training at:
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 103
District 1:
6814 East 21st St. Indianapolis, IN
Phone: (317) 353-1308; Fax: (317) 353-1736
Serves the countries of: Fayette, Hancock, Hamilton, Henry, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Rush, Shelby, Union, Wayne.
District 2:
2080 Lincolnway Ct. Fort Wayne, IN
Phone: (260) 747-2190; Fax: (260) 747-4806
Service the following locations: Adams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Delaware, Huntington, Jay, Randolph, Steuben, Wells, Whitley.
District 3:
107 N. Buckeye St. Kokomo, IN
Phone: (765) 459-4189; Fax: (765) 452-6975
Cover the following areas: Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Grant, Howard, Miami, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, White.
Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana Kentucky
Indianapolis Office:
5001 N. Shadeland Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46226
(317)596-4950, (317)596-4957 f
Elkhart Office:
East Point Business Center, 2701 Industrial Parkway, Suite 190, Elkhart, IN 46516
574-218-0340
Lafayette Office:
722 South Street, Dayton, Indiana 47941
(877)222-0520; (765)357-3201
Associated Training Services
Serves many states including Indiana
Phone: (800) 383-7364; Email:
Indiana University
Indiana University Environmental Health and Safety
Email
Helpful Tips in Choosing a Heavy Equipment Training School
- Verify the training school’s reputation in the local business listing. If the school has received many reviews and has been granted a good one, you may have confidence in enrolling.
- Gives career guidance – a good and reputable school doesn’t only provide comprehensive training to their students, they also give career guidance to their graduates as well.
- Job placement assistance – Would it be great to have a job after completing a heavy equipment training course? If the school offers such assistance it would be easy to land a job after graduating.
- Has modern Facilities – choose the one that has modern and high-tech training equipment and facility. I bet you would not want to go to a school that has rusty and outdated pieces of heavy equipment.
- Find the one the offers a preparatory course for NCCER certification – If you would like to work in the construction industry as a heavy equipment operator, it would be an advantage for you if you completed an NCCER certification. The school will prepare you to pass the NCCER written and practical tests.
- Low trainees-to-instructor ratio – choose a class that has a low number of students so that the instructor can focus and gives much attention to each one of the students.
- Offers NCCCO certification – if you would like to be a crane operator, choose the school that offers preparatory training for you to be able to pass the NCCCO certification exams.
Here are some of the criteria for choosing a heavy equipment operator school in Indiana.
Here are some helpful resources that will help you in becoming an operator:
- What at the Requirements do You Need to e a Heavy Equipment Operator?
- How Long Does It Take To Complete Heavy Equipment Training?
- How Much Does Heavy Equipment Operator Training Cost?
- How to Get a Heavy Equipment Operator License?
- What to Do If You Lost Your Heavy Equipment Operator Certificate?
- Where Can I Go To Learn Heavy Equipment Operation?
How to Become a Heavy Equipment Operator
- Earn high school diploma and other requirements – the other requirements you to have are a commercial driver’s license if you plan to operate trucks and trailers, your valid driver’s license, you need to be at the right age of 18 years old and above, you must pass a drug test and background check, you must also be in good health condition (a DOT physical exam may be required)
- Enroll in a heavy equipment operation course – in Indiana, there are only a few schools that offer heavy training, they’re above, for your reference. Going to a training school is just one of the ways to complete the training. You may opt to take the apprenticeship program offered by a union or by the state. Indiana, to the best of our knowledge, doesn’t offer an apprenticeship program. However, if you opt to get the training through the union, you can take the training at the IUOE 103.
- Take the classroom instruction and practical training – these two are the two components of the training course. You will spend most of your time in the field doing the hands-on operation. Though, to learn the theories and instructions, you will also spend an amount of time in the classroom.
- Pass the Written and Practical Exams – at the end of the training course, the instructor will administer the written and practical exams to measure the knowledge and competency you’ve gained from the training. If you would like to take NCCER/NCCCO certification, you will also take these exams at the designated assessment center.
How Much You’ll Spend Taking the Training?
The training tuition cost around $10,000 up to $14,000, in some school, it might cost around $20,000 depending on the package and coverage you want.
If you don’t have the upfront cash to pay for the tuition, the school may offer a flexible payment scheme or discount. If you are eligible for grants and funding, you also avail those to pay for the tuition. The cost should not be a hindrance for you not to take the training.
The cost is no joke but if you take a look at how much you would get and consider the amount of salary that can be earned, you can easily recuperate your investment in a just short period of time.
Your Duties and Responsibilities as a Heavy Equipment Operator
Getting to know what are your job responsibilities are important to become an effective operator. Depending on the nature of the work you are doing, your primary role is to safely operate the equipment and proper maintenance. To be specific here are your job roles and duties:
- If you will work in the construction industry, you are identified as an operating engineer, you will operate various construction equipment such as dozers, earthmovers, excavators, front-end loaders, these machines are used for excavation, digging, land-filling, paving and other variety of tasks. Construction equipment operators are required to have NCCER certification.
- You will drive trucks of different sizes to transport materials and even other equipment from and to other locations or worksites. This thus requires you to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in order to drive large trucks and trailers.
- Equipment breakdown is inevitable in everyday tasks; you may perform repair and service during the malfunctioning of these machines. You will inform your supervisor or the management of any repair that has to be done to the machines whether if it is a minor repair or a major one.
- To keep the heavy equipment in its optimum performance, you are to perform routine safety maintenance checks. This is required to make sure proper functioning of the machines during operation.
- Safety policies whether it is being implemented by the company or standards set forth by the government or authority has to be complied with. You are to adhere to these policies and standards to maintain the safe operation of the heavy equipment at work.
- You will perform other miscellaneous activities that may be assigned to you by your supervisor.
Again, these are the normal duties of the heavy equipment operator. The industry or sector where you will be working plays a big role in what roles you will be doing.
How Much Do Heavy Equipment Operators Make in Indiana?
If you will work in this state, you could expect an average salary of $68,443per year. But since there's a deviation, it is somewhere in the range of $57,233 - $77,644 depending on some factors.
The factor that greatly affects how much you would get as a heavy equipment operator is the place where you are working. The salary of operators varies in Indiana. Based on the latest March 28, 2023 report of salary.com, here are the towns and cities of Indiana that have high wages:
Anderson | $64,870 | Hammond | $70,002 |
Arlington | $66,144 | Hatfield | $65,933 |
Aurora | $68,170 | Hebron | $70,267 |
Avon | $68,107 | Hobart | $70,002 |
Boggstown | $67,883 | Jamestown | $67,606 |
Boone Grove | $69,742 | Kentland | $67,810 |
Bloomington | $64,530 | Indianapolis | $68,163 |
Carmel | $68,079 | Lafayette | $67,742 |
Chesterton | $69,882 | Lake Village | $69,602 |
Clarksburg | $67,442 | Leroy | $69,802 |
Colfax | $67,742 | Linden | $67,742 |
Cross Plains | $68,086 | Manilla | $66,336 |
Demotte | $69,602 | Mc Cordsville | $68,023 |
Elkhart | $66,790 | Mishawaka | $66,054 |
Evansville | $66,213 | Muncie | $64,618 |
Fair Oaks | $69,602 | Mulberry | $67,742 |
Fishers | $66,935 | Pierceville | $68,086 |
Fort Wayne | $65,354 | San Pierre | $68,500 |
Friendship | $68,086 | Sumava Resorts | $69,602 |
Gary | $70,022 | Union Mills | $67,670 |
Greenwood | $68,135 | West Harrison | $68,226 |
If you will work in the beautiful state of Ohio, the salary you would get there is almost the same in Indiana.
- Best Places to Get Job as a Heavy Equipment Operator
- Heavy Equipment Operator Salary (Year 2021): How Much Can You Make?
Aside from the good pay you can take home, it has been predicted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that there will be substantial growth in the field of heavy equipment operation and material handling. You will be guaranteed long-term employment in the next coming years.
To Conclude This
Getting the right education is important to get into this career. You have to enroll in a formal course offered by a heavy equipment operator school in Indiana. The school will teach you everything you need to know from basic controls, equipment maintenance to safe operation.
You must also attain a certain level of certification. If you like to be a crane operator, you need NCCCO certification while for the construction site heavy equipment operator, you must have NCCER certification.
The training school will assist you in the preparation to pass the certification exams.