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Tickets that raise your rate

• Crane certification

  The single biggest pay step available in this trade, and legally required to run one on a construction site.

• Commercial driver's license

  Move your own machine, drive the lowboy, pick up hours when the weather shuts the site down.

• Machine control and grade systems

  Satellite guided dozers and excavators are now normal on big jobs. Operators who can set up and trust the system are in demand.

• Pipeline and specialty work

  Sidebooms, rock trucks and drills pay premiums and usually mean travel.