Tunnel Constructor
What the work is
Operates plant to excavate, support and form tunnels and shafts in the ground, needed for services such as rail lines, roads and water works.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Operates and performs routine repairs and maintenance on tunnelling equipment and machinery, such as road header machines and tunnel boring machines
- Excavates and removes soil and rock to create tunnels and shafts
- Installs and maintains support systems, such as timber, steel or concrete linings
- Installs site services such as air supply, ventilation, dust extraction and drainage
- Monitors and adjusts tunnelling equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation
- Inspects and tests tunnelling structures for stability and integrity
- Follows engineering plans and specifications to ensure accurate tunnel construction
- Collaborates with engineers and other construction workers to coordinate tunnelling activities
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a civil construction crew building a new road and drainage link on the edge of a fictional town. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A trench comes out dead straight and the pipe layers drop in without a word of complaint
- A rough paddock becomes a flat, smooth building pad by the end of the week
- A visit from the engineer who says the levels are perfect, for once without a second look
Hard days
- A long wet week where the ground turns to soup and the machine just slides
- A buried service nobody told you about, and the tension of not knowing what is under the bucket
- Being asked to dig further or faster than the plan allows
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 741237, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.