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Power Plant Operators
Production · SOC 51-8013
2.6% AI Exposure — Medium
$102,040
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
3,000
Proj. Annual Openings
29,320
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-2.3%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
97/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-8013 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 2.6%
- Medium · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 52/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $102,040
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 3,000
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -11.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 3,606 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Operations MonitoringOperations MonitoringCritical ThinkingOperation and ControlOperation and Control
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
Best transitions from here
Explore all pathways→Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).
Commercial Pilots
91
Match
↓3 exposure+$21k pay+1 training lvl
Skills to build:
MonitoringActive Listening
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
89
Match
↓3 exposure+$130k pay+2 training lvl
Skills to build:
Active ListeningMonitoring
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
86
Match
↓3 exposure−$32k paySimilar training
Skills to build:
Equipment MaintenanceTroubleshooting
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure2.6%
AI Resiliency97/100
Exposure BandMedium
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
24.5%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic2.6%
AI capability · OpenAI15.5%
AI ability · AIOE55.3%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne85%
Top Skills
1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operations Monitoring
3.Critical Thinking
4.Operation and Control
5.Operation and Control
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.
Common titles: Auxiliary Operator, Control Operator, Control Room Operator, Multicraft Operator (MCO), Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Tech), Plant Control Operator
Representative Tasks
- •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.
- •Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.
- •Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Operate energy production equipment.
- •Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
- •Operate pumping systems or equipment.
- •Maintain sustainable energy production equipment.
- •Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotMicrosoft Access · hotDistributed control system DCSEmail softwareGeneral Electric Mark VI Distributed Control System DCSLandfill gas analysis softwareLandtec System Software LFG ProOperational Data Store ODS softwareTeknik Segala OSI Plant Information PI System
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-8013: 2019 — employment: 33,620, median wage: $81,990; 2020 — employment: 32,960, median wage: $84,650; 2021 — employment: 28,960, median wage: $80,850; 2022 — employment: 31,590, median wage: $93,060; 2023 — employment: 31,490, median wage: $97,010; 2025 — employment: 29,320, median wage: $102,040.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 2.6% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Average | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $102,040 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 97/100 | N/A |