Hydroelectric Plant Technician resume example

A resume for a Hydroelectric Plant Technician needs to show the work itself: monitor and control activities associated with hydropower generation. Day to day that means work like this: monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary; identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Hydro Technician
  • Hydro Tech
  • Hydroelectric Mechanic
  • Operations and Maintenance Technician
  • O and M Technician
  • Power Plant Mechanic
  • Hydro Plant Technician
  • Hydro Plant Tech
  • Hydro O and M Technician
  • Hydroelectric Operator
  • Hydroelectric Plant Mechanic
  • Plant Mechanic
  • Power Plant Technician
  • Power Plant Tech
  • C and I Mechanic
  • Hydroelectric Operations Maintenance Tech
  • Hydroelectric Plant Installation Tech
  • Hydroelectric Plant O and M Tech

O*NET records 31 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Hydro Plant Technician (Hydro Plant Tech)
  • Hydro Technician (Hydro Tech)
  • Hydroelectric Operations and Maintenance Technician (Hydro O and M Technician)
  • Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Technician)
  • Power Plant Technician (Power Plant Tech)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary.
  • Identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines.
  • Start, adjust, or stop generating units, operating valves, gates, or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric power generating plants.
  • Perform preventive or corrective containment or cleanup measures in hydroelectric plants to prevent environmental contamination.
  • Inspect water-powered electric generators or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric plants to verify proper operation or to determine maintenance or repair needs.
  • Communicate status of hydroelectric operating equipment to dispatchers or supervisors.
  • Operate high voltage switches or related devices in hydropower stations.
  • Operate hydroelectric plant equipment, such as turbines, pumps, valves, gates, fans, electric control boards, or battery banks.
  • Maintain or repair hydroelectric plant electrical, mechanical, or electronic equipment, such as motors, transformers, voltage regulators, generators, relays, battery systems, air compressors, sump pumps, gates, or valves.
  • Implement load or switching orders in hydroelectric plants, in accordance with specifications or instructions.
  • Install or calibrate electrical or mechanical equipment, such as motors, engines, switchboards, relays, switch gears, meters, pumps, hydraulics, or flood channels.
  • Change oil, hydraulic fluid, or other lubricants to maintain condition of hydroelectric plant equipment.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Start, adjust, or stop generating units, operating valves, gates, or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric power generating plants, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Perform preventive or corrective containment or cleanup measures in hydroelectric plants to prevent environmental contamination, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
  • Distributed control system DCS
  • IBM Lotus Notes
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft Word
  • Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
  • Web browser software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Adjustable hand wrenches
  • Channel lock pliers
  • Clamp-on ammeters
  • Claw hammers
  • Combustion turbines
  • Cordless drills
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital multimeters
  • Drill presses
  • Forklifts
  • Grease guns
  • Hydroelectric generating units

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Critical Thinking
  2. 02Equipment Maintenance
  3. 03Operations Monitoring
  4. 04Operation and Control
  5. 05Monitoring
  6. 06Repairing
  7. 07Troubleshooting
  8. 08Reading Comprehension
  9. 09Active Listening
  10. 10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Mechanical
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Mathematics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Education and Training
  • Design
  • Computers and Electronics
  • English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 34%Associate's Degree
  • 34%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 22%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Hydroelectric Plant Technician do?
Monitor and control activities associated with hydropower generation. Day to day that includes work like monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary and Identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines.
What skills should a Hydroelectric Plant Technician put on a resume?
O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Equipment Maintenance, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Hydroelectric Plant Technician list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Computerized maintenance management system CMMS, Distributed control system DCS, IBM Lotus Notes, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Hydroelectric Plant Technician work?
O*NET records 31 titles for this occupation, including Hydro Technician, Hydro Tech, Hydroelectric Mechanic, and Operations and Maintenance Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Hydroelectric Plant Technician need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 34% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Hydroelectric Plant Technician role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.