Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
SOC 51-8021 · 2024-2034
Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Operate equipment such as steam engines, generators, motors, turbines, and steam boilers.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $92,718per year
- Projected openings
- 7,340
- Projected change
- +6.6%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Equipment Maintenance
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Troubleshooting
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $131,772 | 840 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $128,646 | 70 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $122,409 | 390 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $122,409 | 120 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $121,042 | 540 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $104,629 | 80 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $94,184 | 740 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $87,772 | 100 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $85,423 | 170 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $85,115 | 90 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $84,027 | 90 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $83,596 | 60 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $82,622 | 140 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $74,301 | 50 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $74,262 | 2,240 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $73,665 | 150 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $71,787 | 70 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $65,078 | 150 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $64,749 | 90 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $64,144 | 50 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $62,921 | 640 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $62,625 | 650 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $62,574 | 770 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $62,359 | 210 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $61,353 | 50 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $60,666 | 140 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $55,433 | 110 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $48,693 | 30 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $49,719
- A quarter earn under
- $63,272
- Half earn under
- $92,718
- Three quarters earn under
- $123,096
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $135,759
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Plant Operators | $107,611 | 1,900 | -15.4% |
| Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door | $103,095 | 3,850 | +7% |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other | $52,679 | 27,340 | +2.1% |
| Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers | $74,612 | 37,750 | +12.8% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
NAVFAC SouthWest
NAVFAC SouthWest · San Diego · $0