How To Become A Bridge Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a bridge operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a bridge operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.09 an hour? That's $35,545 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBridge OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,545

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.72%

Asian 6.74%

Black or African American 13.41%

Hispanic or Latino 19.50%

Unknown 6.57%

White 51.07%

Gender

female 21.86%

male 78.14%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a bridge operator

Explore bridge operator education requirements

Most common bridge operator degrees

High School Diploma

41.0 %

Bachelor's

27.4 %

Associate

18.8 %

Start to develop specific bridge operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	17.47%
Technical Support	14.16%
Safety Procedures	11.96%
Hazardous Materials	11.37%
Bridge Operations	9.48%

Complete relevant bridge operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bridge 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 a bridge operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real bridge operator resumes.

Research bridge operator duties and responsibilities

Trouble shoot and resolve conferencing issues for schedule and manage videoconferencing customers.
Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Provide technical and operational guidance and direction to the DOD customer in establishing and operating video teleconferencing systems.
Used AutoCAD to draft bridges after design are completed.

Prepare your bridge operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your bridge 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 a bridge 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 bridge operator resume templates

Build a professional bridge 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 bridge operator resume.