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Dredge Operators vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Dredge Operators and Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Dredge Operators Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$48,430
$52,550
Employment · BLS OEWS
1,030
34,210
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
0th pct
30th pct

At a glance

Dimension Dredge Operators Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Median pay $48,430 $52,550
Employment 1,030 34,210
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.2%) Declining (-0.4%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 100 3,100
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 0th pct Low · 30th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 11th pct · 13% of tasks —
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No —

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Mechanical, Control Precision, Operation and Control, Multilimb Coordination, Operations Monitoring, Depth Perception, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Reaction Time, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Far Vision, Finger Dexterity, Hearing Sensitivity, Critical Thinking, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Auditory Attention, Speech Recognition, Active Listening, Speaking, Monitoring, Troubleshooting, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Response Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Complex Problem Solving.

Specific to Dredge Operators

  • English Language
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Administration and Management
  • Selective Attention
  • Information Ordering
  • Speech Clarity
  • Production and Processing
  • Flexibility of Closure

Specific to Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

  • Rate Control
  • Spatial Orientation
  • Peripheral Vision
  • Building and Construction
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Learning
  • Persuasion
  • Equipment Selection

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Industrial control software .

Specific to Dredge Operators

Specific to Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Dredge Operators or Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Dredge Operators vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/dredge-operators-vs-excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operators-surface-mining

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Dredge Operators vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/dredge-operators-vs-excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operators-surface-mining

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-dredge-operators-vs-excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operators-surface-mining,
  title  = {Dredge Operators vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/dredge-operators-vs-excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operators-surface-mining}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.