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

What is a key 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 key operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.39 an hour? That's $36,162 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -8% and produce -286,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreKey OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,162

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 9.37%

Black or African American 10.73%

Hispanic or Latino 21.91%

Unknown 4.47%

White 52.89%

Gender

female 48.03%

male 51.97%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a key operator

Explore key operator education requirements

Most common key operator degrees

Bachelor's

32.6 %

Associate

32.3 %

High School Diploma

22.6 %

Start to develop specific key operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	24.22%
Xerox	11.99%
Photoshop	7.84%
Computer System	4.84%
Customer Orders	3.46%

Complete relevant key operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New key 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 key operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real key operator resumes.

Research key operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Perform bindery functions using spiral, velo, and GBC bindery equipment.
Complete bindery for print jobs including cutting, folding, drilling and collating.
Perform one or more bindery operation such as collating, shrink-wrap, lamination, paper cutting and stock.

Prepare your key operator resume

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

Build a professional key 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 key operator resume.