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

What is an extraction 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 an extraction operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.56 an hour? That's $38,615 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreExtraction OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,615

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.79%

Asian 0.79%

Black or African American 6.72%

Hispanic or Latino 13.83%

Unknown 4.35%

White 73.52%

Gender

female 15.66%

male 84.34%

Age - 39

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

Stress level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an extraction operator

Explore extraction operator education requirements

Most common extraction operator degrees

High School Diploma

50.0 %

Associate

24.2 %

Bachelor's

15.2 %

Start to develop specific extraction operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Extraction	41.67%
Safety Procedures	12.79%
Extractors	9.99%
OpEx	9.93%
Distillation	6.32%

Complete relevant extraction operator training and internships

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

Research extraction operator duties and responsibilities

Use automate systems and RF units to pull, put away and load customer product, in addition to managing inventory
Perform specialized production line and quality control duties in a professional production environment specializing in plastic extrusion.
Used PLC computer equipment to transfer grain.
Dry grain using an industrial dryer and a PLC computer system.

Prepare your extraction operator resume

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

Build a professional extraction 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 extraction operator resume.