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

What is a substation 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 substation operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.91 an hour? That's $47,649 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -15% and produce -6,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSubstation OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,649

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate -15%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.37%

Asian 1.51%

Black or African American 6.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.04%

Unknown 5.47%

White 76.57%

Gender

female 3.17%

male 96.83%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a substation operator

Explore substation operator education requirements

Most common substation operator degrees

Bachelor's

53.1 %

Associate

12.5 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific substation operator skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	58.71%
Electrical Equipment	15.77%
Substation Equipment	6.68%
Station Equipment	6.47%
Safety Procedures	4.39%

Complete relevant substation operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New substation 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 substation operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real substation operator resumes.

Research substation operator duties and responsibilities

Perform maintenance on substation power transformers, regulators, circuit switches, capacitor banks and relay enclosures.
Dutiesinclude starting and stopping pumping and generating units using manualcontrol boards or SCADA control system.
Charge with the inspection and maintenance of substation circuit breakers, transformers and all associate sub-station equipment.
Implement tool control and OSHA safety regulations while working independently on various machinery.

Prepare your substation operator resume

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

Build a professional substation 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 substation operator resume.