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

What is a retort 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 retort operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.58 an hour? That's $36,573 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 9,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRetort OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $36,573

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.58%

Asian 1.37%

Black or African American 12.24%

Hispanic or Latino 15.19%

Unknown 4.86%

White 65.77%

Gender

female 8.28%

male 91.72%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a retort operator

Explore retort operator education requirements

Most common retort operator degrees

High School Diploma

47.5 %

Bachelor's

20.3 %

Associate

16.9 %

Start to develop specific retort operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Hazardous Materials	42.58%
Thermal Processing	20.42%
FDA	12.58%
CCP	8.86%
RAN	5.53%

Complete relevant retort operator training and internships

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

Research retort operator duties and responsibilities

Operate heavy machinery such as bobcat equipment and also operate and pave asphalt perform demolition work.
Operate heavy machinery such as bobcat equipment and also operate and pave asphalt perform demolition work.

Prepare your retort operator resume

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

Build a professional retort 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 retort operator resume.