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

What is a central station 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 a central station operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.31 an hour? That's $33,919 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCentral Station OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,919

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.48%

Asian 2.27%

Black or African American 11.27%

Hispanic or Latino 21.89%

Unknown 4.46%

White 58.63%

Gender

female 58.62%

male 41.38%

Age - 39.5

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 - 39.5

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a central station operator

Explore central station operator education requirements

Most common central station operator degrees

Bachelor's

32.5 %

Associate

29.2 %

High School Diploma

22.0 %

Start to develop specific central station operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Emergency Situations	20.71%
Data Entry	12.90%
Alarm Signals	10.39%
Security Systems	5.89%
Outbound Calls	3.32%

Complete relevant central station operator training and internships

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

Research central station operator duties and responsibilities

View and monitor outside and inside activity via CCTV system through digital and analog cameras.
Operate heavy machinery such as bobcat equipment and also operate and pave asphalt perform demolition work.
Secure and control weapons and ammunition in security areas, and schedule and perform preventive and organizational maintenance on weapons.
Review, complete and file necessary documents to reserve training locations and ammunition requests.

Prepare your central station operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your central station 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 central station 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 central station operator resume templates

Build a professional central station 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 central station operator resume.