How to become an Earthmoving and Piling Machine Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 挖掘铲运和桩工机械司机

Also called: Bulldozer Driver, Excavator Driver, Scraper Driver, Loader Driver, Pile Driver

Operates bulldozers, scrapers, excavators and piling rigs to dig, scrape, fill and move earth and rock and drive piles.

Main tasks

• Operating bulldozing, scraping and digging equipment to dig, scrape, fill and move earth and rock
• Operating piling rigs to build pile foundations
• Setting up, testing, earthing and fitting limit protection to equipment before use
• Maintaining equipment and fixing faults
• Filling in site records and machine logbooks

Ways in

• Vocational majors: Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Transport Construction Machinery Operation and Repair (700204). Vocational major 700204 Transport Construction Machinery Operation and Repair (交通工程机械运用与维修), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: China 6 Diesel Vehicle Maintenance and Diagnostics.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥74,600 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥56,600 to CN¥104,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥43,900 and one in ten more than CN¥153,100.
• This is the figure for the mid group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers, not for this job alone.
• National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
• Guangzhou only: median CN¥104,814 a year (2025), middle half CN¥77,071 to CN¥136,128.
• This is the figure for the minor group General Construction Machinery Operators, not for this job alone.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers holds 0.67% of everyone employed in China; 7.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 42.9% are under 35, 50.5% are 35 to 54 and 6.6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
• Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Related jobs

• Crane and Materials Handling Operator
• Rigger
• Conveyor Operator
• Cable Car Operator

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Earthmoving and Piling Machine Operator?

Ways in include: Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Transport Construction Machinery Operation and Repair (700204).

How much does an Earthmoving and Piling Machine Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥74,600 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Transport Equipment and General Construction Machinery Operators and Related Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥104,814 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Earthmoving and Piling Machine Operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
• Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026