Power Plant Operators

Also Called:

Auxiliary Operator,

Control Room Operator,

Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Tech),

Power Plant Operator

What they do: Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.

Energy & Natural Resources icon

Energy & Natural Resources

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels.
  • Take regulatory action, based on readings from charts, meters and gauges, at established intervals.
  • Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Cautiousness

Integrity

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

  • Communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Use rules to solve problems

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

  • Do two or more things at the same time

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

  • Talking to others

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Power Plant Operators jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop