---
title: "Continuous Mining Machine Operator"
description: "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…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/continuous-mining-machine-operator"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Continuous Mining Machine Operator

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-5041 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-5041.00

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.

Also advertised as: Bore Miner Operator; Continuous Miner; Continuous Miner Operator (CMO); Continuous Mining Machine Operator; Continuous Mining Operator (CMO); Heavy Equipment Operator; Loader Operator; Mine Technician.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $61,810 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $29.72/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $46,770 to $86,210, with the middle half between $51,610 and $77,570
- **Total US employment:** 14,000
- **Typical entry education:** No formal credential
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 63/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 14,000 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $46,770 |
| 25th | $51,610 |
| 50th (median) | $61,810 |
| 75th | $77,570 |
| 90th | $86,210 |
| Mean (average) | $65,050 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MN | $90,820 | $92,090 | 420 |
| NV | $85,590 | $85,608 | 1,110 |
| WY | $85,260 | $91,983 | 330 |
| CO | $81,110 | $78,708 | 290 |
| WV | $77,570 | $86,673 | 720 |
| IL | $74,830 | $74,861 | 230 |
| IN | $71,570 | $76,686 | 170 |
| VA | $63,480 | $62,787 | 230 |
| CA | $62,790 | $56,711 | 940 |
| FL | $62,580 | $60,514 | 230 |
| ID | $60,990 | $63,868 | 70 |
| AZ | $60,880 | $60,471 | 2,850 |
| PA | $60,780 | $62,292 | 510 |
| UT | $59,420 | $60,103 | 890 |
| AL | $59,360 | $66,830 | 340 |

12 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 27 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/continuous-mining-machine-operator/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/continuous-mining-machine-operator.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 14,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 14,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 400 jobs, or +3.2%. About as fast as average: 3.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,400 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 81.3% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 9.6% |
| Some College Courses | 5.1% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 4.0% |

## What the work involves

- Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Law and Government — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Control Precision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reaction Time — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Rate Control — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.97 |
| C — Conventional | 4.07 |
| I — Investigative | 2.50 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.34 |
| S — Social | 1.04 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 89.8 |
| ISTP | 79.3 |
| ESTJ | 72.8 |
| ISFJ | 72.1 |
| INTJ | 67.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator) — median $59,850
- [Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operator, Surface Mining](https://nuecareer.com/careers/excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operator-surface-mining) — median $57,430
- [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker) — median $47,730
- [Earth Driller, Except Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/earth-driller) — median $60,190
- [Loading and Moving Machine Operator, Underground Mining](https://nuecareer.com/careers/loading-and-moving-machine-operator-underground-mining) — median $74,500
- [Rotary Drill Operator, Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rotary-drill-operator-oil-and-gas) — median $67,890
- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic) — median $65,510
- [Maintenance Worker, Machinery](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-worker-machinery) — median $60,850
- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator) — median $68,080
- [Industrial Machinery Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-machinery-mechanic) — median $64,520

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank 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 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/continuous-mining-machine-operator