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

What is a burner machine 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 burner machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.05 an hour? That's $31,305 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreBurner Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $31,305

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 7.83%

Black or African American 10.30%

Hispanic or Latino 18.89%

Unknown 4.49%

White 57.41%

Gender

female 1.79%

male 98.21%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a burner machine operator

Explore burner machine operator education requirements

Most common burner machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

63.3 %

Bachelor's

16.7 %

Diploma

10.0 %

Start to develop specific burner machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Tape Measure	36.63%
Hand Tools	35.44%
Calipers	11.74%
Cranes	10.64%
Torches	3.72%

Complete relevant burner machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New burner machine 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 burner machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real burner machine operator resumes.

Research burner machine operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the levels of chemicals to make sure process run correctly for making Styrofoam.
Record statistics on ISO documentation, and coordinate with machine technicians and electrical technicians to keep machines operating at maximum efficiency.
Participate in technical support and assist validation and QA department during equipment validation.

Prepare your burner machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your burner machine 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 burner machine 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 burner machine operator resume templates

Build a professional burner machine 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 burner machine operator resume.