How To Become An Auxiliary Plant Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an auxiliary plant operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an auxiliary plant operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.92 an hour? That's $45,592 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -8,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAuxiliary Plant OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,592

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate -7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.64%

Asian 1.84%

Black or African American 7.77%

Hispanic or Latino 12.62%

Unknown 4.58%

White 70.55%

Gender

female 5.56%

male 94.44%

Age - 47.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47.5

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an auxiliary plant operator

Explore auxiliary plant operator education requirements

Most common auxiliary plant operator degrees

High School Diploma

30.4 %

Bachelor's

30.4 %

Associate

30.4 %

Start to develop specific auxiliary plant operator skills

Skills	Percentages
LOTO	39.35%
Plant Equipment	33.71%
Hand Tools	18.44%
Plant Systems	6.89%
Water Pumps	1.62%

Complete relevant auxiliary plant operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New auxiliary plant operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an auxiliary plant operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real auxiliary plant operator resumes.

Research auxiliary plant operator duties and responsibilities

Manage and perform preventive maintenance, electrical repairs, millwright work, and MSHA safety functions.
Perform preventive maintenance with tools in mechanical rooms, HVAC, kitchen, and cooking equipment.
Prepare asphalt mixtures per customer requirements, load and unload tankers and monitor tanks and assist with paperwork
Operate small rotating biological contractor plant that utilize activated sludge with sand filters and UV disinfection to process wastewater.

Prepare your auxiliary plant operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your auxiliary plant operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an auxiliary plant operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable auxiliary plant operator resume templates

Build a professional auxiliary plant operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your auxiliary plant operator resume.