Control and monitor the systems that generate electricity, adjusting output and watching for faults.
Power generating stations and control rooms.
Rotating shifts, including nights and weekends
May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
High school / no degree
Training path: On-the-job training, paid.
Operators at nuclear plants must be licensed by the NRC, and others earn required certifications.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Top-tier pay for a high school start, but the field is shrinking as older plants close.
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Standard Occupational Classification 51-8013. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.