Power technician vs steam plant operator

The differences between power technicians and steam plant operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a power technician has an average salary of $57,396, which is higher than the $45,404 average annual salary of a steam plant operator.

The top three skills for a power technician include OSHA, hand tools and PLC. The most important skills for a steam plant operator are general maintenance, plant equipment, and water pumps.

Power technician vs steam plant operator overview

	Power Technician	Steam Plant Operator
Yearly salary	$57,396	$45,404
Hourly rate	$27.59	$21.83
Growth rate	-15%	-15%
Number of jobs	26,150	34,695
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Power technician vs steam plant operator salary

Power technicians and steam plant operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Power Technician	Steam Plant Operator
Average salary	$57,396	$45,404
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $101,000	Between $32,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between power technician and steam plant operator education

There are a few differences between a power technician and a steam plant operator in terms of educational background:

	Power Technician	Steam Plant Operator
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Power technician vs steam plant operator demographics

Here are the differences between power technicians' and steam plant operators' demographics:

	Power Technician	Steam Plant Operator
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 95.1% Female, 4.9%	Male, 92.9% Female, 7.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 1.5% White, 76.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 1.5% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between power technician and steam plant operator duties and responsibilities

Power technician example responsibilities.

Perform trouble shooting of equipment such as rectifiers, disconnects and battery plants.
Specialize in maintenance testing and repair of automatic transfer switches, low and medium voltage distribution equipment.
Repair automatic transfer switches at different sites throughout the state.
Install alternating current applications such as rectifiers, environmental circuits, etc.
Install, configure and troubleshoot LTE, UMTS wireless systems on ATT and Verizon network.
Perform installation, upgrades and reconfiguration to integrate UMTS 850/1900 and LTE 700/1900/AWS into existing UMTS/CDMA sites.

Steam plant operator example responsibilities.

Manage and perform preventive maintenance, electrical repairs, millwright work, and MSHA safety functions.
Prepare asphalt mixtures per customer requirements, load and unload tankers and monitor tanks and assist with paperwork
Train in adult CPR and general first aid.
Insure that lock-out and tag-out procedures are perform safely and in compliance with APS guidelines.

Power technician vs steam plant operator skills

Common power technician skills

OSHA, 17%
Hand Tools, 12%
PLC, 10%
Electrical Distribution, 8%
A/C, 6%
Safety Procedures, 5%

Common steam plant operator skills

General Maintenance, 15%
Plant Equipment, 13%
Water Pumps, 12%
Mechanical Equipment, 11%
Loaders, 8%
HVAC, 7%

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Power Technician vs Steam Plant Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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