What Does an Operator Do?

We looked at the average Operator annual salary and compared it with the average of a Machine Operator/Forklift Operator. Generally speaking, Machine Operator/Forklift Operators receive $3,338 lower pay than Operators per year.

While their salaries may differ, one common ground between Operators and Machine Operator/Forklift Operators are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like Safety Procedures, Heavy Equipment, and Quality Standards.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. An Operator responsibility is more likely to require skills like "CDL," "Emergency," "Daily Operations," and "Dozers." Whereas a Machine Operator/Forklift Operator requires skills like "Forklifts," "Drill Press," "RF," and "Troubleshoot." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

Machine Operator/Forklift Operators tend to reach similar levels of education than Operators. In fact, Machine Operator/Forklift Operators are 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Now we're going to look at the Equipment Operator/Labour profession. On average, Equipment Operators/Labour earn a $344 higher salary than Operators a year.

A similarity between the two careers of Operators and Equipment Operators/Labour are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "Heavy Equipment," "CDL," and "Preventive Maintenance. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, Operator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "Safety Procedures," "Emergency," "Daily Operations," and "Quality Standards." Meanwhile, a Equipment Operator/Labour might be skilled in areas such as "Manual Labor," "Sewer Lines," "Water Truck," and "Excavators." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On the topic of education, Equipment Operators/Labour earn similar levels of education than Operators. In general, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Let's now take a look at the General Machine Operator profession. On average, these workers make lower salaries than Operators with a $3,735 difference per year.

Using Operators and General Machine Operators resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "Safety Procedures," "Heavy Equipment," and "Quality Standards," but the other skills required are very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from Operator resumes include skills like "CDL," "Emergency," "Daily Operations," and "Preventive Maintenance," whereas a General Machine Operator might be skilled in "Manual Labor," "Troubleshoot," "Production Process," and "Tape Measure. "

General Machine Operators are known to earn similar educational levels when compared to Operators. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Now, we'll look at Maintenance Operators, who generally average a lower pay when compared to Operators annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $397 per year.

According to resumes from both Operators and Maintenance Operators, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "Safety Procedures," "Heavy Equipment," and "CDL. "

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "Emergency," "Quality Standards," "Quality Checks," and "Dozers" are skills that have shown up on Operators resumes. Additionally, Maintenance Operator uses skills like Hand Tools, DOT, Equipment Operation, and Snow Removal on their resumes.

Maintenance Operators reach similar levels of education when compared to Operators. The difference is that they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.