Continuous Mining Machine Operators
US occupation · SOC 47-5041
Job titles people report: Bore Miner Operator, Continuous Miner, Continuous Miner Operator (CMO), Continuous Mining Machine Operator, Continuous Mining Operator (CMO), Heavy Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Mine Technician, Mine Utility Operator, Miner Operator
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $61,810
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $51,610 – $77,570
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 14,000
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +3.2%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,400
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- No formal educational credential
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
Main tasks
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
- Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
- Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- No formal educational credential
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Transportation and Materials Moving
- Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
$59,850 median · +4.6% projected
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
$57,430 median · +1% projected
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
$60,190 median · +3.6% projected
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
$67,890 median · +0.8% projected
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines
$65,510 median · +6.7% projected
- Maintenance Workers, Machinery
$60,850 median · -1.9% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk