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

What is a detector car 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 detector car operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.37 an hour? That's $46,526 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 3,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDetector Car OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $46,526

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 1.91%

Black or African American 11.46%

Hispanic or Latino 6.58%

Unknown 4.67%

White 74.95%

Gender

female 20.00%

male 80.00%

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

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a detector car operator

Explore detector car operator education requirements

Most common detector car operator degrees

Bachelor's

54.2 %

Associate

16.7 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific detector car operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Enforcement	84.94%
Patrol	15.06%

Complete relevant detector car operator training and internships

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

Research detector car operator duties and responsibilities

Operate and perform basic maintenance on locomotives.
Report any facts concerning vehicles maintenance, to management.

Prepare your detector car operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your detector car 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 detector car 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 detector car operator resume templates

Build a professional detector car 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 detector car operator resume.