Engineering Equipment Operating

What the Numbers Say About Engineering Equipment Operating

0.1% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Engineering Equipment Operating occupation (OPM code 5716): 2,956 people, headcount down -2.4% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Average tenure in Engineering Equipment Operating runs 11.3 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $73,579 per year, 33.0% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 1.9% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

Code 57, the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family, is where the federal government classifies Engineering Equipment Operating alongside 14 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Engineering Equipment Operating postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Within the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family, Engineering Equipment Operating is one of the top 15 occupations by headcount (#2), accounting for 27.6% of the family's combined 10,693 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (60th percentile) of pay among Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family occupations.