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

What is a punch card operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a punch card operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.53 an hour? That's $32,307 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -45,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePunch Card OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,307

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 4.73%

Black or African American 15.59%

Hispanic or Latino 19.51%

Unknown 4.21%

White 55.33%

Gender

female 20.69%

male 79.31%

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 punch card operator

Explore punch card operator education requirements

Most common punch card operator degrees

High School Diploma

50.0 %

Associate

20.0 %

Bachelor's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific punch card operator skills

Skills	Percentages
RAN	100.00%

Complete relevant punch card operator training and internships

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

Research punch card operator duties and responsibilities

Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Operate various industrial equipment including slitters, perforating machines and packaging lines in order to achieve maximum production capabilities.
Reset and replacement of comp cards, PLC's conveyors, strip cores, and balers.

Prepare your punch card operator resume

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

Build a professional punch card 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 punch card operator resume.