Also called: Resource Recovery Plant Operator, Incinerator Operator
Runs a plant that burns trash at high temperatures to make electricity.
Operators monitor furnaces and boilers from a control room, inspect pollution control equipment, and use a giant claw crane to mix trash in the pit. Plants run 24/7 in shifts.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. On-the-job training; many hold stationary engineer or boiler licenses.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Power Plant Technology (2-year).
Shrinking (about -2% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 51-8013: Decline (-1% or lower).
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Plant controls get more automated and AI tunes combustion; licensed operators remain, but fewer per shift.
Classes: Physics, Chemistry, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-8013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.