At a power plant, coal mine, or rail-delivery yard, you weigh coal arrivals or shipments — operating truck scales, railcar scales, or conveyor weighers to capture the tonnages that feed billing, inventory, and combustion accounting.
A coal yard or power-plant scale house anchors the working environment — trucks pulling onto scales, hopper cars passing across in-motion weighers, conveyor totals updated through the shift. You're often between the delivery driver and the plant operations team. Tonnages recorded accurately and delivery tickets matching anchor the visible measures.
Where it gets demanding is the dust and weather exposure typical of coal-handling sites — outdoor scale houses, coal dust everywhere, equipment maintenance done in conditions. Variance across employers is real: at major utilities and mines coal weighers work within union work rules and structured operations; at smaller operations the weigher combines with broader scale-house work.
It fits people who are comfortable with dusty industrial environments and steady through shift work. The trade-off is the coal dust exposure and the body cost of years of yard work. Industry credentials and bidding seniority anchor advancement.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →At a power plant, coal mine, or rail-delivery yard, you weigh coal arrivals or shipments — operating truck scales, railcar scales, or conveyor weighers to capture the tonnages that feed billing, inventory, and combustion accounting.
Median pay for a Coal Weigher is about $46K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $35K to $60K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Monitoring, and Service Orientation.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to decline about 4.8% through 2034, with roughly 49,720 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Materials Specialist, Sample Clerk, and Scale Attendant.
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