Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers
Earnings
The median annual wage for power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers was $75,660 in May 2015.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $47,560, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $101,630.
Median annual wages for power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers in May 2015 were as follows:
Nuclear power reactor operators
$88,560
Power distributors and dispatchers
80,840
Power plant operators
71,940
Because electricity is provided around the clock, operators, distributors, and dispatchers usually work rotating 8- or 12-hour shifts. As a result, all operators share the less desirable shifts. Work on rotating shifts can be stressful and tiring because of the constant changes in living and sleeping patterns.
Union Membership
Compared with workers in all occupations, power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers had a higher percentage of workers who belonged to a union in 2014.
Power Plant Operators, Distributors, and Dispatchers
Median annual wages, May 2015
Power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers
$75,660
Plant and system operators
$57,160
Total, all occupations
$36,200
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics