Career profile for Rock Splitter

What does a Rock Splitter do?

Rock Splitters separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammers, wedges, or chop saws.

What kind of tasks does a Rock Splitter perform regularly?

Rock Splitters are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Locate grain line patterns to determine how rocks will split when cut.
Remove pieces of stone from larger masses, using jackhammers, wedges, and other tools.
Insert wedges and feathers into holes, and drive wedges with sledgehammers to split stone sections from masses.
Mark dimensions or outlines on stone prior to cutting, using rules and chalk lines.

The above responsibilities are specific to Rock Splitters. More generally, Rock Splitters are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Controlling Machines and Processes		Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment		Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Controlling Machines and Processes

Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

What is a Rock Splitter salary?

The median salary for a Rock Splitter is $37,130, and the average salary is $38,430. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Rock Splitter salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Rock Splitters earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Rock Splitters earn less than $27,620 per year, 25% earn less than $31,980, 75% earn less than $43,730, and 90% earn less than $51,730.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Rock Splitters is expected to change by 6.5%, and there should be roughly 600 open positions for Rock Splitters every year.

Median annual salary: $37,130
Typical salary range: $27,620 - $51,730
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 6.5%

What personality traits are common among Rock Splitters?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Rock Splitter are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Rock Splitters typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Rock Splitter tend to value Support, Relationships, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Rock Splitters moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Rock Splitters somewhat value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Rock Splitters somewhat value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Rock Splitters must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, independence, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Rock Splitters, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence		Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Social Orientation		Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Independence

Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Social Orientation

Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

What education and training do Rock Splitters need?

Working as a Rock Splitter may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Rock Splitters need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

Educational degrees among Rock Splitters

16.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
48.3% completed high school or secondary school
22.0% completed some college coursework
5.2% earned a Associate's degree
7.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.7% earned a Master's degree
0.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Rock Splitters

Rock Splitters may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as production and processing, mechanical, or mathematics knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Rock Splitters might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Important Abilities needed by Rock Splitters

Rock Splitters must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Rock Splitters need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, multilimb coordination, and control precision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Rock Splitters, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Multilimb Coordination		The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Control Precision		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Static Strength		The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Trunk Strength		The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Multilimb Coordination

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Static Strength

The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

Trunk Strength

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Critical Skills needed by Rock Splitters

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Rock Splitters frequently use skills like operation and control, operations monitoring, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Rock Splitters, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Operation and Control		Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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