Continuous Mining Machine Operators Career, Salary and Skills
Continuous Mining Machine Operators have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $61,810 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 14,000. Wage data is published for 40 locations.
Occupation 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, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
O*NET code
47-5041.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$61,810
Hourly median
$29.72
Employment
14,000
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | 3.88 | 3.62 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Repairing | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.00 | 3.00 |
Typical 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.
Technology
- Fleet monitoring system software
- Hitachi ZXLink
- Leica Geosystems FMS
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Minitab
Continuous Mining Machine Operators salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in AZMedian $60,880 · Employment 2,850
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in NVMedian $85,590 · Employment 1,110
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in CAMedian $62,790 · Employment 940
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in MOMedian $47,280 · Employment 920
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in UTMedian $59,420 · Employment 890
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in WVMedian $77,570 · Employment 720
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in Tucson, AZMedian $60,880 · Employment 720
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in Phoenix, AZMedian $63,250 · Employment 710
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in PAMedian $60,780 · Employment 510
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in NMMedian $48,900 · Employment 470
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in MNMedian $90,820 · Employment 420
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators Salary in KYMedian $50,020 · Employment 390
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- Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsNational median $46,420
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- MillwrightsNational median $65,700
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.