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

What is a turbine 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 turbine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.31 an hour? That's $50,567 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -15% and produce -6,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTurbine OperatorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,567

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate -15%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.20%

Asian 1.45%

Black or African American 5.49%

Hispanic or Latino 7.70%

Unknown 5.62%

White 76.54%

Gender

female 5.22%

male 94.78%

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

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a turbine operator

Explore turbine operator education requirements

Most common turbine operator degrees

Bachelor's

44.2 %

Associate

25.6 %

Diploma

14.0 %

Start to develop specific turbine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Control Room	19.46%
Electrical Systems	18.87%
Water Systems	16.13%
Safety Standards	14.49%
Water Chemistry	12.63%

Complete relevant turbine operator training and internships

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

Research turbine operator duties and responsibilities

Use TAGLINK to prepare LOTO for the equipment to be repair.
Job require yearly training in first aide, CPR and fire fighting.
Perform routine maintenance on pumps, valves, exchangers, air compressors, and condensers.
Identify parameters indicative of an emergency condition and initiate designated actions, execute terminal shutdown and start-up procedures upon approval.

Prepare your turbine operator resume

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

Build a professional turbine 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 turbine operator resume.