Hey everybody I hope all is well for you and your families! I am on route to take my heavy equipment operator course from a private college (5h Wheel Institute) and I have a choice between taking my AZ + 8 pieces of heavy equipment or AZ + 2 pieces of heavy equipment. I have decided to take the 2 pieces + AZ License because I get more hours on 2 pieces instead of deviding the time up for 8 pieces - so here is my question: What two pieces of equipment would give me the most job opportunities - I have picked Backhoe and excavator. What does everyone on here think - I am trying to get in out in Alberta and I'm trying to maximize my job opportunity. Thank you for all your answers in return I appreciate it very much and look forward to becoming a pretty big part of the community once I start my training!
a dozer and excavator, because a backhoe is so much like an excavator. it would give you more opportunities for work and they also work together a lot it helps to have seat time on both when working around one a another
I agree with Clint that the excavator and backhoe are to much alike. But I think I would go for the backhoe over the excavator, then you can learn the loader and its almost like getting to learn a 3rd machine. So my vote would be dozer and backhoe.
@ clintm Hmmm thanks Clint - I never thought of that and that's probably why I'm here ha-ha! I really appreciate it 100% - I am having trouble with a ton of people telling me it's not a good idea to take this course ( on sites ) because you get nothing out of it for work. I just want a foundation of operation skills and then start from the bottom and work my way up! They are breaking my confidence here a little but even if it helps me get in as a laborer to work my way into operating machines I'm okay with that too!
hmm that sounds like a good plan as well - as long as they allow me to use the loader and not just the backhoe part of a backhoe ! I will look into this tomorrow ! Thanks brothers! anyone else - and don't forget this is to go out west too if that makes any difference!
IMO id take grader and backhoe, from what i have been told a grader is one of those machines that when you learn to run you just become that much better and to transition to other machines is easier. and a backhoe well you get a loader and digger in one
i think the grader is a very good thing to learn cause there are ALOT of guys that say they can run it & they can run it but not operate it!! lol the #2 choice would either be dozer or excavator!!
I have heard this about the grader - I want to thank all of you for all of your replies and wish yous nothing but the best! I will have more to go on now! I'm sure I'll be back with another question one day soon!
I'm going to play devil's advocate on this one and advise against training on a grader. Reason being is that the chances of you getting in one are slim, the training will be a waste of your time. You would be better served to train on a piece of equipment you'd more likely operate. Not trying to be a jerk, but if you're a rookie dirt hand, the chances of you beating someone else out for a seat in a blade is pretty minimal. My suggestion is dozer and excavator. Not trying to discourage you, but there are guys that have proficiently operated all sorts of dirt gear their entire lives and can't hold half a day in a blade without being kicked out, just the nature of that beast. Once you've mastered everything else or the boss throws you a bone and tells you to jump in one, I'd stay away from the blade and keep your frustration level minimal. Beyond "running" the machine, there are lots of skills that you need to learn on other pieces of gear before you can get operate a blade to the point of being productive. Best of luck.
Great Point! I totally agree with your post in my thread - I appreciate it very much - thanks everyone! :drinkup
id say an excavator and grader. backhoes are out of date and hardly used, skid steers aren't really a machine and anyone who has graduated elementary school can operate one of those, a loader is ok but its easy to learn on the go, same with a dozer, they're common and easy to pick up on because they're used all the time. a good excavator operator or a good grader operator are irreplaceable. excavators are very common from tiny mini hoes to large excavators, they're on almost every site. and a grader you'll understand the concept of keeping grades that will transfer over to a dozer. sorry for the length but id say a grader and excavator, skip out on the backhoe they're a thing of the past except for specific uses.
This seems to make the most sense ! Anything else anyone can add from experience would be greatly appreciated!
I completely disagree! Maybe it just depends on what type of the world your in......
they're too slow compared to excavators. the only people that use them are farmers and municipalities, besides an odd ball one here and there that people cant sell or use for odd jobs and plowing snow.
To slow at what? Tell you what, you take an excavator any size I'll take my old crappy backhoe and we'll have a race. We'll dig a hole say 10' x 10' x 10', then we'll take the dirt from that hole and move it 300' feet across the site. Can you think of any excavator that can compete with my obsolete backhoe on such a task? What other type of machine can compete? I agree the ex would be much faster digging the hole, but most of my jobs involve a little more than just digging a hole. So a ex would be great if you want to own and bring in another machine to do the rest of the work. I would love to watch an excavator of any size install a rock septic system that you cant get a dump truck within 300 feet of. Just about every excavating contractor around me has a backhoe, maybe half of them have excavators.
I'm just curious, do you have any first hand knowledge of the way things are done in Alberta? I would venture a guess that you don't, because there are far more companies using backhoes than just farmers and municipalities. The backhoe is a great utility machine, and there are tons of them around Alberta, doing everything from utilities work, to oilfield construction.