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Role hub · Power Plant Operators

Power Plant Operator: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of power plant operators earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$102,040
Hourly
$49.06
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Power Plant Operators control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. The median pay is $102,040 a year ($49.06 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (60% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$102,040
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
29,320
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
60% of workers
Key facts

Power Plant Operators at a glance

  • Power plant operators in the United States earned a median annual wage of $102,040 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for power plant operators in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of power plant operators in the United States to decline 5.1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,300 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 29,320 people were employed as power plant operators in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Power Plant Operators

SalaryPower Plant Operator salary

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The work

What power plant operators do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels.
  2. Take regulatory action, based on readings from charts, meters and gauges, at established intervals.
  3. Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment.
  4. Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.
  5. Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems.
  6. Operate or maintain distributed power generation equipment, including fuel cells or microturbines, to produce energy on-site for manufacturing or other commercial purposes.
  7. Open and close valves and switches in sequence to start or shut down auxiliary units.
  8. Control or maintain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, fans, compressors, condensers, feedwater heaters, filters, or chlorinators, to supply water, fuel, lubricants, air, or auxiliary power.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all power plant operator jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Utilities68.8% of all jobs in this occupation · -6.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $104,520
  2. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals15.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -2.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $96,920
  3. Educational services; state, local, and private3.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -2.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $66,040
  4. Professional, scientific, and technical services3.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $77,130
  5. Waste management and remediation services1.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +0.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $84,700
  6. Management of companies and enterprises1.5% of all jobs in this occupation · -0.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $107,350

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Operations MonitoringcoreOperation and ControlcoreCritical ThinkingcoreSpeakingComplex Problem SolvingActive ListeningMonitoringQuality Control AnalysisJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: Mechanical, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Production and Processing, Chemistry, Physics.

Tools and technology

Software power plant operators use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Computerized maintenance management system CMMSFacilities management software
  • Continuous emissions monitoring systems CEMSIndustrial control software
  • Distributed control system DCSIndustrial control software
  • Emerson OvationIndustrial control software
  • Gas field monitoring system softwareIndustrial control software
  • General Electric Mark VI Distributed Control System DCSIndustrial control software
  • General Electric Mark VI Integrated Control System ICSIndustrial control software
  • Interlock shutdown systemsIndustrial control software
  • Landfill gas analysis softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • Landtec System Software LFG ProAnalytical or scientific software
  • Safety instrumented system SIS softwareIndustrial control software
  • Siemens Power Plant Automation SPPAIndustrial control software

Also called: Auxiliary Operator, Control Operator, Control Room Operator, Multicraft Operator (MCO), Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Tech), Plant Control Operator.

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Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.