Rock Splitters, Quarry
Separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammers, wedges, or chop saws.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Personnel and Human Resources
What the work involves
- 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.
- Cut slabs of stone into sheets that will be used for floors or counters.
- Set charges of explosives to split rock.
- Drill holes along outlines, using jackhammers.
- Drill holes into sides of stones broken from masses, insert dogs or attach slings, and direct removal of stones.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (49.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Up to and including 1 month (28.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (55.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Rock Splitters, Quarry is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 98% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 81% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 91% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 98% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 99% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 99% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 64% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: 23.31%
- Contact with others about half the time: 3.28%
- Contact with others most of the time: 34.89%
- Constant contact with others: 20.78%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 47.79%
- Fairly important: 18.16%
- Important: 8.87%
- Very important: 19.17%
- Extremely important: 6%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 11.45%
- Important: 30.02%
- Very important: 27.02%
- Extremely important: 31.52%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 8.87%
- Very little freedom: 4.91%
- Limited freedom: 37.79%
- Some freedom: 33.55%
- A lot of freedom: 14.88%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Time pressure
- Never: 21.15%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 37.2%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.48%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.3%
- Every day: 8.87%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Conflict situations
- Never: 64.82%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 27.55%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 64.82%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 33.55%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 17.04%
- Fairly serious: 20.16%
- Serious: 8.99%
- Very serious: 25.36%
- Extremely serious: 28.46%
n = 14, Incumbent 06/2008
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O*NET-SOC 47-5051.00 · SOC 47-5051 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8