It is fun, but difficult at first to master. Must be able to think with your hands and feet, and have a good eye for spatial relationships. They have contests for tractor operators, especially excavator operators. Digging holes was a lifelong frustration for me (I had plans for an underground bunker at age 6), until I met the John Deere 690B trackhoe with the controls set up Cat style. Love at first hole, 3' wide and 20' deep and the bottom was flat and I could dig 100' an hour and lay sewer in it, at a laid rate of $8 a foot labor plus materials. $6400 days. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Then it rained. For 2 weeks.

I guess one of the reasons I stayed in construction was the chance to get to play on the tractors while making money at it, and I get to make the earth really move...