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

What is a launch 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 launch operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.69 an hour? That's $72,155 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLaunch OperatorUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $72,155

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 3.14%

Black or African American 6.85%

Hispanic or Latino 8.90%

Unknown 4.72%

White 75.30%

Gender

female 25.75%

male 74.25%

Age - 40.5

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 - 40.5

Stress level

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a launch operator

Explore launch operator education requirements

Most common launch operator degrees

Bachelor's

52.6 %

High School Diploma

21.1 %

Associate

10.5 %

Start to develop specific launch operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Boats	32.46%
Coast Guard	16.34%
GPS	15.77%
Missile	14.20%
Technical Knowledge	7.68%

Complete relevant launch operator training and internships

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

Research launch operator duties and responsibilities

Manage day-to-day transportation and logistics services for multinational account base.
Monitor combat missions through satellite and computer global positioning systems in order to prepare accurate reports for unit commanders.
Monitor combat missions through satellite and computer global positioning systems in order to prepare accurate reports for unit commanders.

Prepare your launch operator resume

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

Build a professional launch 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 launch operator resume.