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

What is a senior operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

These people are responsible for weighing trucks carrying materials or the material itself. They are mainly employed by recycling centers, agro-industries, metal scrap processing facilities, building material suppliers, etc. They are meant to weigh both incoming and outgoing materials.

On a secondary level, they are also responsible for providing customer service to both commercial residential customers as well as subcontracted trash haulers. Depending on the industry these people had found themselves in, prospects are expected to have a knowledge of measurement.

There are some skills you need to have to increase your chances of getting this job, some of them include: Ability to keep simple records, Ability to stick to oral and written instructions, Good reading ability, Good writing skills, Ability to speak fluently, Good communication skills, Average Computer knowledge.

You do not necessarily need higher education to get this job. In most companies, people with GED or High School Degrees are seen working there. In most cases, employers prefer people with the above-mentioned skill to people with academic qualifications.

As for the salary of an average Scale Operator, it depends on your experience on the job, your location, and the size of the organization. In the United States, Scale Operators are paid between $39,578, $42,000, and $36,000 per annum. But it can still go as low as $10,958 per annum.

ScoreSenior OperatorUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,677

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 2.60%

Black or African American 17.04%

Hispanic or Latino 19.07%

Unknown 4.46%

White 55.98%

Gender

female 27.25%

male 72.75%

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

8.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior operator

Explore senior operator education requirements

Most common senior operator degrees

Bachelor's

38.0 %

Associate

24.8 %

High School Diploma

23.9 %

Start to develop specific senior operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	17.33%
Math	7.80%
PowerPoint	6.51%
Windows	5.37%
Logistics	4.97%

Complete relevant senior operator training and internships

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

Research senior operator duties and responsibilities

Measure and inspect parts with calipers, scale, MRP, leads, micrometers and taper.
Manage the master calendar and schedule resources such as communication equipment, weapons, transportation and ammunition forecast and delivery.
Operate QC testing equipment such as calipers and micrometers.
Experience with MVS and JES2 command sets, the weekly shutdown and initial power load of production systems.

Get senior operator experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior operator. The most common roles before becoming a senior operator include operator, customer service representative team lead and cashier.

Prepare your senior operator resume

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

Build a professional senior 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 senior operator resume.