Skilled Trades Lead Equipment Operator

Leads specialized work in operating specialized equipment for skilled trades.

Project salary Add to compare

Compensation by seniority

Simulated

Median

$65k

Mean

$68k

10th–90th pct

$49k–$90k

Observations

395

Confidence: 33% · based on 395 simulated observations · last updated 7/27/2026

Historical trend & projection

Median total compensation at the typical seniority level for this role, 2021–2025, projected forward under three scenarios.

Simulated

Common skills

Heavy Machinery Operation

Core

Equipment Maintenance

Core

Process Improvement

Common certifications

OSHA 30-Hour Certification · 47% of postings

Education requirements

Share of postings that require or prefer each level — a signal of typical hiring bars, not a hard rule.

Simulated

Trade School

41% require · 28% prefer

Certificate

22% require · 18% prefer

No College

25% require · 5% prefer

Explore education impact for related majors →

Common next roles

Equipment Operations Manager, Skilled Trades+78.3%Maintenance Manager, Skilled Trades+95.6%Skilled Trades Equipment Operator+8.9%Skilled Trades Lead Maintenance Technician+10.0%Skilled Trades Maintenance Technician-0.2%

Common previous roles

Skilled Trades Equipment Operator+8.2%Equipment Operations Manager, Skilled Trades+43.9%Maintenance Manager, Skilled Trades+48.9%Skilled Trades Maintenance Technician-0.2%Skilled Trades Lead Maintenance Technician+9.1%

Demand snapshot

Active openings (simulated)7,484

Posting growth+34.1%

Median days to fill70 days

Simulated

Employed (US, simulated)122,867

Projected growth3%/yr

Simulated

Role characteristics

Remote-friendliness2%

Automation exposure20%

Sources & freshness

Compensation and demand figures on this page are simulated demo data, deterministically generated for this build of CareerAtlas — not verified real-world observations.

Read the full methodology