Power Plant Operators
Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Engineering and Technology
- Design
What the work involves
- Analyze the layout, instrumentation, or function of electrical generation or transmission facilities.
- Diagnose or troubleshoot problems with gas collection systems.
- Monitor well fields periodically to ensure proper functioning and performance.
- Operate landfill gas, methane, or natural gas fueled electrical generation systems.
- Prepare and submit compliance, operational, and safety forms or reports.
- Repair or replace gas piping.
- Trace electrical circuitry to ensure compliance of electrical systems with applicable codes or laws.
- Verify that well field monitoring data conforms to applicable regulations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (59.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (47.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (50.2%)
- 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 Power Plant Operators 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 | High | Higher on contact with others than 64% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 87% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 79% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 50% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 70% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 61% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 97% of occupations compared | 70% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very 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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.49%
- Contact with others most of the time: 33.24%
- Constant contact with others: 61.27%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 21.63%
- Fairly important: 50.6%
- Important: 5.49%
- Very important: 20.23%
- Extremely important: 2.05%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 1.67%
- Important: 1.96%
- Very important: 31.9%
- Extremely important: 64.46%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 15.06%
- Some freedom: 56.41%
- A lot of freedom: 28.53%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 18.18%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.14%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.51%
- Every day: 39.17%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.59%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.6%
- Every day: 11.43%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 7.13%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.76%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.4%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 13.72%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0%
- Fairly serious: 7.61%
- Serious: 0%
- Very serious: 22.81%
- Extremely serious: 69.58%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 51-8013.00 · SOC 51-8013 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8