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Most jobs in construction are seasonal, and that goes for backhoe operators too. The creative ones, however, can find ways to work year-round.

Craig Marshall is a backhoe operator who makes the most out of his winters. He operates an excavating business where winters are long, in Littleton, Colorado. There's not much to do with a backhoe when the ground is frozen -- except clear snow. So he offers snow clearing specials during the winter, advertising them on his website.

In the summer, the backhoe is used for other work.

"I put in septic systems," says Marshall. "I use a backhoe and Bobcat to put trenches in."

Marshall has one full-time employee to help him with his business. He hired him right out of high school and started training him on how to use the equipment.

"Both of us can do everything. Whatever job needs to be done, we do it," Marshall says proudly.

Marshall says he's been interested in construction work since he was in high school. His uncle was a builder and Marshall worked for him some summers.

"It's something I enjoyed. I liked to be around that stuff," he recalls. Marshall finished high school and completed an undergraduate degree in engineering physics. He found work as a blaster, laying dynamite to blow away rock for pipelines. He went back to school to get a master's degree in applied physics. When he graduated, Marshall decided to work for himself.

"It's a good career, one of the few jobs where you can stay small and make a living. I like that."

The area where he lives is mountainous, so Marshall often has to blast away rock to lay in septic lines. Then he uses the backhoe to clear away the rubble.

It's work he would recommend to anyone.

"It's not hard to get training on [the equipment]," he says. "Go hang around construction yards and get someone to let you use one. Then just be careful doing things you're not confident about."

It's important to realize that the work can be dangerous. Once he rolled his backhoe while digging a test hole on a job site. He wasn't hurt and the backhoe only needed minor repairs, but Marshall says he learned an important lesson.

"It was a matter of being too busy and trying too much, too fast."

Brian Campos is the chief operating engineer for his family's construction company in Rockford, Illinois.

"I don't think there is an individual who operates equipment who hasn't been scared," he says. "I can recall when I was first starting. I got a load up too high and the machine tipped forward. If you have 20 to 30 years of experience you can still have accidents."

Campos says not paying attention when the job gets routine is a danger for any big machine operator.

Excavation and heavy equipment operating is a field dominated by men, but women are increasingly drawn to it. Ted Casey teaches a heavy equipment operators' course at a community college. He says women represent only three percent of his students, but that number has been increasing.

Marlene Vandale agrees. She is licensed to operate heavy trucks and has experience working the backhoe. She's found that women are often the last people to be called for a job. Sometimes, men seem to feel they have to babysit a woman operator.

When it comes to running a business, all operators have to stay on their toes, however.

The biggest worry for Marshall is the financial risk of running his own business. Most of his work is for individual homeowners and landowners. He's happy to leave big contracts to larger companies with more equipment. The drawback is that homeowners only pay for work that is finished, while bigger contracts generally pay something up front.

"The hardest part is getting people to pay on time," he confides. "It's so expensive to run equipment and then you're waiting for people to pay; it's hard to cover expenses sometimes."

Marshall has developed a sense that warns him that something is about to go wrong. He can tell something isn't quite right when the homeowner is acting strange. More than once, it has turned out the person was trying to sell the house to get out of paying for the septic work.

"These days most of my work is by referral. A customer will refer me to a friend, then I know them and they know where I'm coming from. A good reference cuts down on the chance of that kind of thing."

Despite the financial pitfalls, Marshall says he likes excavation. "I enjoy doing it, planning it, looking at the site, deciding which equipment to use -- basically working out all the logistics."

Marshall hopes for a long career in excavating -- one in which he'll be blasting and digging when he has grandchildren. "Hopefully they'll be here to see what's going on."

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