Production · Holland code RCE

Power Distributors and Dispatchers

Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.

Also called: Power System Dispatcher, Power System Operator, Systems Operator, Transmission System Operator (TSO), Control Area Operator, Control Operator, Dispatcher, Distribution System Dispatcher (DSD).

O*NET 51-8012.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $106,730; Middle half earn $90,200 to $130,940. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 40% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.
Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.
Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers.
Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators.
Distribute or regulate the flow of power between entities, such as generating stations, substations, distribution lines, or users, keeping track of the status of circuits or connections.
Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
Active Listening3.6 / 5
Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
Monitoring3.6 / 5
Speaking3.5 / 5
Writing3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language3.9 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.7 / 5
Mathematics3.5 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.5 / 5
Telecommunications3.5 / 5
Engineering and Technology3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic70
Investigative24
Artistic0
Social16
Enterprising35
Conventional69

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

power plant manager · DE Kraftwerksmeister/Kraftwerksmeisterin · FR directeur de centrale électrique/directrice de centrale électrique
power production plant operator · DE Steuerer von Energieerzeugungsanlagen/Steuerin von Energieerzeugungsanlagen · FR conducteur d’installations de production d’énergie/conductrice d’installations de production d’énergie
electrical power distributor · DE Steuerer Stromverteilung/Steuerin Stromverteilung · FR monteur-électricien réseaux distribution électrique/monteuse-électricienne réseaux distribution électrique
electrical transmission system operator · DE Steuerer Stromversorgung/Steuerin Stromversorgung · FR conducteur/conductrice de systèmes de transmission d’électricité
fossil-fuel power plant operator · DE Steuerer von mit fossilen Brennstoffen betriebenen Kraftwerken/Steuerin von mit fossilen Brennstoffen betriebenen Kraftwerken · FR conducteur/conductrice d’installation de production d’énergie fossile
geothermal power plant operator · DE Steuerer von Geothermiekraftwerken/Steuerin von Geothermiekraftwerken · FR conducteur/conductrice d’installations de production d’énergie géothermique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Energy plant operatives (8133)5,600 employed
Electrical and electronic trades n.e.c. (5249)18,100 employed
Office managers (4141)155,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.50. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-8012).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test