Careers in the Energy Industry
Examples of Energy Industry Careers
- Entry Level Utility Worker: Provide basic labor support in the performance of general power plant cleanup and maintenance. Average wage: $10.28
- Power Plant Control Operator Assistant: Under the direction of control operator, operate all equipment both locally and remotely to safely, reliably and efficiently produce power. Write and issue equipment over for maintenance. Average wage $16.98
- Power Plant Control Operator: Operate all equipment both locally and remotely to safely, reliably and efficiently produce power. Write and issue equipment clearance to safely turn plant equipment over for maintenance. Average wage: $29.40
- Apprentice Power Plant or Substation Electrician: assist in performing maintenance on high-voltage switchgear and electrical distribution or transmission equipment. An apprenticeship program combines supervised, structured on-the-job training with related classroom instruction generally includes 6000 of on the job training and an average of 432 classroom hours of instruction Average wage: $17.50
- Journey Level Power Plant or Substation Electrician: Skilled workers having three (3) or more years experience in this trade, Perform preventative and corrective electrical maintenance on equipment. Perform maintenance on high-voltage switchgear and electrical distribution or transmission, heating, and ventilating equipment. Average wage: $30.43
- Power Plant Mechanic: Under the direction of head mechanic, perform skilled journeyman level work in the repair, preventative maintenance, overhaul and rebuilding of a wide variety of diesel, gasoline, aerial and construction equipment. Average wage: $27.78
- Power Plant Equipment Operator: Operate and monitor operation of power plant equipment. Inspect and service gas, steam turbine, heat recovery steam generation and transmission equipment. Average wage: $24.26
- Power Plant Technician: Assist operators and assistant operators in the inspection, starting, operation, and shutdown of boilers, turbines, generators, and all auxiliary equipment. Average wage: 19.95
- Millwright: Maintain and repair various types of heavy industrial equipment such as gas and steam turbine generators, steam turbines, pumps, and air compressors. Perform rigging on all types of lifts. Average wage: $24.42
- Groundman: Typically works in construction and maintenance of electrical distribution or transmission facilities. Under the supervision of journeyman lineman they assist with responsibilities on power transmission and distribution projects. Average wage: $15.50
- Apprentice Linemen: Assist the journeymen linemen in building and maintaining electrical power systems. An apprenticeship program combines supervised, structured on-the-job training with related classroom instruction. Average apprentice program includes 6000 of on the job training and 432 hours of classroom instruction. Average wage: $20.50
- Journey Level Linemen: Skilled workers having three (3) or more years experience in this trade to perform work on transmission and distribution lines. Required to operate all types of motor-driven equipment used in overhead, underground, and substation maintenance and construction work following equipment specific training. Average wage: $35.00
- Wind Turbine Technician: Perform regular preventative maintenance and repair activities on wind turbine generators including lubrication, alignments and torque checks. Perform electrical and mechanical troubleshooting activities as required. Attend regular safety meetings and follow appropriate company safety and environmental policies. Average wage: $18.00
- Energy Auditor: Complete estimations and inspections for residential, commercial and industrial energy operations. Issue reworks for errors, omissions and workmanship problems and complete compliance inspections for Rehab/Weatherization as needed. Average wage: $25.00
- Energy Manager: Responsible for analyzing current energy usage and developing the energy management plan to provide proper environmental conditions with cost effective energy utilization; responsible for HVAC control and energy tracking computer system. Average wage: $35.00
Regional Energy Employers
The following employers hire for one or more of the positions listed above:- Bonneville Power Administration
- Bureau of Reclamation Grand Coulee
- Cardinal Glass
- Chehalis Suez
- Chelan PUD
- Portland General Electric
- Puget Sound Energy
- Seattle City Light
- Seattle Steam
- Tacoma Power
- TransAlta-Centralia
Energy Career Web Sites
These websites provide links to job postings in the energy industry:Energy Empowers—highlights new jobs in the renewable energy sector, features personal stories of renewable energy job growth across the country
Society of Women Engineers
Get into Energy
Department of Energy
Energy Central
Northwest Public Power Administration
Utility Education & Training Alliance (UETA)
Western Energy Institute (WEI)
Energy Job Search
Power Plant Jobs
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators (Dept. of Labor)
Think Energy
