Heavy Equipment Operator Technician (Certificate)
Butte College · Oroville, CA
- Cost
- $2,045
- Length
- 34 weeks
- Working 6 months later
- Not reported
Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.
What happened to people who took this
- People enrolled
- 231
- Finished the program
- 63%Based on 112 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
- Working 6 months later
- Not reported
- Earnings in one quarter after
- Not reported
The jobs this trains for
This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.
Trains for more than one job. The outlook shown is the weakest of them.
Where California publishes a separate figure for Chico MSA (Butte County), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Job ads may call this: Sprayer · Hay Baler · Rake Operator · Baler Operator
Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.
- Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
- Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
- Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
- Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
Show 4 more things this job involves
- Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
- Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
- Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Typical pay in California
- $39,872per year
- Projected openings
- 26,200
- Projected change
- +7.4%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
California publishes no separate figure for this job in Chico MSA. The statewide figures above are the only ones there are.
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- 1 to 12 months
These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
Pay, hiring, and what people studied
Job ads may call this: Mechanic · Field Mechanic · Tractor Mechanic · Farm Equipment Mechanic
- Reassemble machines and equipment following repair, testing operation and making adjustments, as necessary.
- Examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to locate and diagnose malfunctions.
- Maintain, repair, and overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, and irrigation systems.
- Record details of repairs made and parts used.
Show 4 more things this job involves
- Dismantle defective machines for repair, using hand tools.
- Clean and lubricate parts.
- Repair or replace defective parts, using hand tools, milling and woodworking machines, lathes, welding equipment, grinders, or saws.
- Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.
What this pays in Chico MSA (Butte County)
Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.
| Area | The lowest-paid tenth earn under | Half earn under | The highest-paid tenth earn over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $40,689 | $59,527 | $81,645 |
| Across California | $39,650 | $55,311 | $85,552 |
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for Chico MSA (Butte County) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.
- Typical pay in California
- $55,311per yearChico MSA: $51,913
- Projected openings
- 4,900Chico MSA: 80
- Projected change
- +5.4%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Getting in
- Experience needed first
- None
- Training after you are hired
- More than a year
New hires are trained on the job for more than a year after they start. The classroom part is the beginning of this work, not the whole of it.
Program details
This program provides in-person instruction only.
Students who successfully complete the program requirements will have the operation, repair, and diagnostic skills necessary to obtain entry-level employment. Each year, the demand for qualified operators and maintenance technicians increases. Our partners including the Operating Engineers Local 3, Caltrans, CalFire, local and statewide contractors, and agriculture companies. Most jobs are obtained with smaller contractors. Jobs are also available in production, agriculture, land leveling, orchard removal, and other agricultural employers.
Someone else may be able to pay for this
This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.
Ask before you enroll, not after
The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.
The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California
Alliance for Workforce Development Inc.-OrovilleComprehensive center
Phone: 530-538-7301
78 Table Mountain BlvdButte Co. Dept. of Employment and Social ServicesOroville, CA 95965about 6.3 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Has a veterans' representative
Nations Finest OfficeAffiliate site
Phone: 530-809-2831
535 Wall StreetChico, CA 95928about 18.1 miles away
Hours: Monday -Friday 8:00am-5:00pm
Alliance for Workforce Development, Inc.Comprehensive center
Phone: 530-961-5125
500 Cohasset Road, Suite # 30Chico, CA 95926about 19.9 miles away
Hours: Monday - -Friday 8:000am - 5:00pm
Has a veterans' representative
At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.
Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List
How this gets paid for, and what to ask →
Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.
The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.
How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →