Hydropower
Hydropower jobs in the U.S.: 58,089 employed (2024)
Every state ranked by hydropower employment
Hydropower occupations — national median wages
| Role | SOC | National median | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrologic / Civil Engineer | 17-2051.00 | $95,890 | 4 |
| Water Treatment Plant Operator (Hydro) | 51-8031.00 | $54,460 | 3 |
Skill profile for hydropower roles
Top skills
Active Listening3.69
Critical Thinking3.57
Speaking3.57
Reading Comprehension3.50
Complex Problem Solving3.44
Mathematics3.44
Monitoring3.44
Time Management3.38
Knowledge
Mathematics4.05
Engineering and Technology4.05
English Language3.53
Building and Construction3.50
Design3.49
Administration and Management3.48
Public Safety and Security3.36
Physics3.30
Core abilities
Oral Comprehension3.88
Oral Expression3.88
Written Comprehension3.81
Deductive Reasoning3.75
Problem Sensitivity3.69
Near Vision3.69
Inductive Reasoning3.63
Written Expression3.56
Representative tasks for hydropower workers
- Design energy-efficient or environmentally sound civil structures. (Core)
- Maintain, repair, and lubricate equipment, using hand tools and power tools. (Core)
- Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site. (Core)
- Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards. (Core)
- Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities. (Core)
- Clean and maintain tanks, filter beds, and other work areas, using hand tools and power tools. (Core)
- Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms. (Core)
- Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility. (Core)
- Design or engineer systems to efficiently dispose of chemical, biological, or other toxic wastes. (Supplemental)
- Identify environmental risks and develop risk management strategies for civil engineering projects. (Supplemental)
- Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids. (Core)
- Develop or implement engineering solutions to clean up industrial accidents or other contaminated sites. (Supplemental)
Software and tools used in hydropower roles
Microsoft Excel 🔥
Microsoft Office software 🔥
Microsoft Outlook 🔥
Microsoft PowerPoint 🔥
Microsoft Word 🔥
Extensible markup language XML 🔥
The MathWorks MATLAB 🔥
C 🔥
Microsoft Access 🔥
Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management 🔥
Trimble SketchUp Pro 🔥
Microsoft Dynamics 🔥
Procore software 🔥
Adobe Acrobat 🔥
Apache Subversion SVN 🔥
Autodesk AutoCAD 🔥
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 🔥
SAP software 🔥
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks 🔥
Autodesk Revit 🔥
Shell script 🔥
Microsoft Project 🔥
Microsoft Visual Basic 🔥
ESRI ArcGIS software 🔥
Education & training paths into hydropower
IM
Job-Related Professional Certification3.9%
Apprenticeship2.5%
OJ
On-the-Job Training13.3%
PT
On-Site or In-Plant Training14.3%
Required Level of Education
Required Level of Education25.0%
Related Work Experience (Years)
Related Work Experience14.3%
Workforce composition of U.S. hydropower workers
| Demographic | Share of sector |
|---|---|
| 18 to 29 (%) | 27.5% |
| 30 to 54 (%) | 53.3% |
| 55 and over (%) | 19.2% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native (%) | 2.1% |
| Asian (%) | 9.5% |
| Black or African American, not Indigenous (%) | 9.5% |
| Female (%) | 27.3% |
| Formerly Incarcerated (%) | 2.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (%) | 18.8% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (%) | 1.5% |
| Not Hispanic or Latino (%) | 81.2% |
| Represented by a Union (%) | 13.4% |
| Self-Identification of Disability (%) | 2.2% |
| Two or More Races (%) | 3.9% |
| Unknown Race (%) | 3.3% |
| Veterans (%) | 10.2% |
| White (%) | 70.2% |
Clean-energy technologies × NAICS industry groups (national)
| Technology | Construction (NAICS 23) | Manufacturing (NAICS 32-33) | Other (NAICS 81) | Professional Services (NAICS 51-56) | Wholesale Trade (42-45) | Utilities (NAICS 22) | Mining and Extraction (NAICS 21) | Agriculture (NAICS 11) | Commodity Flows | Pipeline Transportation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced building materials/insulation | 27,856 | 58,851 | 1,124 | 26,320 | 1,320 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Advanced Natural Gas | 10,421 | 2,677 | 843 | 11,730 | 5,522 | 49,375 | — | — | — | — |
| Air sealing | 37,359 | 2,349 | 252 | 12,330 | 18,881 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | 41,225 | 14,294 | 1,154 | 13,408 | 8,727 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bio | 5,864 | 1,096 | 418 | 2,889 | 644 | 2,383 | — | — | — | — |
| Biodiesel fuels | — | 519 | 2 | 4,790 | 410 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Biofuels | 1,040 | — | 54 | 379 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified air-source heat pumps | 28,365 | 14,025 | 821 | 12,422 | 14,921 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Appliances (not including HVAC) | 72,696 | 12,910 | 3,191 | 39,145 | 14,269 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Commercial Food Service Equipment | 15,722 | 3,794 | 674 | 9,169 | 2,135 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Data Center Equipment | 1,577 | 4,829 | 2,304 | 234 | 3,643 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Electronics (TVs, Telephones, Audio/Video, etc.) | 154 | 3,924 | 1,072 | 270 | 1,833 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified ground-source or geothermal heat pumps | 2,691 | 1,542 | 68 | 1,201 | 1,575 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVAC), except for air-source or ground-source heat pumps | 164,338 | 20,997 | 2,373 | 9,043 | 5,968 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Insulation | 101,927 | 7,328 | 201 | 4,781 | 1,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified LED lighting | 60,886 | 14,047 | 2,984 | 55,136 | 19,324 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Roofing | 22,738 | 7,167 | 255 | 2,842 | 1,328 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified water heaters | 15,553 | 420 | 94 | 4,310 | 1,713 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Windows, Doors and Skylights | 14,546 | 1,149 | 424 | 7,930 | 2,104 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coal | 6,441 | 992 | 855 | 23,570 | 5,943 | 22,639 | 44,740 | — | — | — |
| Combined Heat and Power | 4,228 | 1,976 | 183 | 19,248 | 4,144 | 1,607 | — | — | — | — |
| Compressed NG | 53 | 26 | 0 | 385 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Corn Ethanol | — | 9,572 | 108 | 2,884 | 6,959 | — | — | 16,552 | — | — |
| Crude Oil | 427 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electric Power Generation Total | 303,682 | 108,685 | 43,216 | 205,662 | 83,064 | 189,490 | — | — | — | — |
| Energy auditing services | 1,364 | 0 | 132 | 1,191 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Energy Efficiency Total | 1,297,543 | 327,716 | 42,991 | 503,139 | 210,354 | — | — | — | — | — |
| EPTD Total | 488,025 | 66,618 | 13,370 | 130,290 | 43,195 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| EV Charging | 1,324 | 182 | 166 | 641 | 579 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fuels Total | 22,939 | 239,977 | 1,999 | 179,447 | 143,664 | — | 429,858 | 36,486 | — | — |
| Geothermal | 5,312 | 282 | 27 | 1,921 | 430 | 1,007 | — | — | — | — |
| Land-based Wind | 43,801 | 24,089 | 2,757 | 35,945 | 13,946 | 11,336 | — | — | — | — |
| LNG | 484 | 260 | 11 | 313 | 198 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Low Impact Hydropower | 1,894 | 3,215 | 68 | 4,379 | 2,555 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mechanical | 103 | 1,422 | 13 | 446 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Micro Grid | 12,299 | 3,651 | 552 | 3,246 | 1,722 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles (Aggregate of Vehicle Technologies) | — | 290,671 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 54,356 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles Component Parts | — | 710,911 | — | — | 377,263 | — | — | — | 110,298 | — |
| Motor Vehicles Total | — | 1,001,582 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 431,619 | — | — | — | 110,298 | 0 |
| Nat Gas | 11,016 | 3,474 | 1,070 | 8,623 | 3,514 | 19,578 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear | 0 | 1,731 | 0 | 76 | 2,494 | 40,100 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear Fuel | — | 2,794 | 0 | 5,779 | 947 | — | 440 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Natural Gas | — | 5,424 | 29 | 13,467 | 167 | — | 3,176 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Petroleum | — | 41,201 | 760 | 10,089 | 1,727 | — | 35,753 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Wind | 356 | 170 | 30 | 539 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oil and Other Petroleum | — | 5,312 | 132 | 4,430 | 2,147 | 454 | — | — | — | — |
| Onshore Natural Gas | — | 40,129 | 137 | 25,026 | 30,144 | — | 134,931 | — | — | — |
| Onshore Petroleum | 22,939 | 104,254 | 538 | 60,323 | 60,063 | — | 210,818 | — | — | — |
| Other | 31,125 | 40,672 | 3,025 | 19,067 | 4,904 | 4,703 | — | — | — | — |
| Other Biofuels | — | 162 | 25 | 4,124 | 1,159 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Ethanol/Non-Woody Biomass, including Biodiesel | — | 2,784 | 71 | 10,251 | 5,837 | — | — | 2,756 | — | — |
| Other Fossil Fuel | — | 2,960 | 106 | 5,422 | 7,897 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Gas | 280 | — | 0 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Grid Modernization | 17,410 | 2,056 | 268 | 2,952 | 276 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other LED, CFL, and efficient lighting | 116,334 | 40,494 | 538 | 40,217 | 24,478 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Liquid Fuel | 53 | — | 0 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other renewable heating and cooling (geothermal, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) | 53,164 | 4,745 | 128 | 16,962 | 5,006 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Storage | 155 | — | 0 | 41 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pumped Hydro | 3,983 | 2,602 | 78 | 1,545 | 315 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Recycled building materials | 44,742 | 10,910 | 2,817 | 17,762 | 3,279 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Reduced water consumption products and appliances | 58,835 | 7,500 | 1,283 | 21,813 | 5,849 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Gas) | 464 | — | 217 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Liquid) | 414 | 278 | 225 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Renewable diesel fuels | — | 542 | 1 | 3,764 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smart Grid | 12,380 | 1,678 | 185 | 11,350 | 1,627 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Solar | 181,671 | 46,513 | 35,852 | 58,487 | 31,700 | 16,333 | — | — | — | — |
| Solar thermal water heating and cooling | 16,530 | 2,666 | 656 | 8,426 | 3,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Storage Total | 49,743 | 19,057 | 1,833 | 17,171 | 9,355 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Thermal | 748 | 174 | 82 | 379 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trad Transmission and Distribution | 365,840 | 43,302 | 12,108 | 84,539 | 37,639 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| Traditional HVAC goods, control systems, and services | 330,635 | 31,799 | 17,046 | 166,352 | 63,484 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Traditional Hydropower | 9,353 | 13,162 | 237 | 9,006 | 6,357 | 19,975 | — | — | — | — |
| Transmission, Distribution, and Storage Total | 537,767 | 85,675 | 15,203 | 147,461 | 52,550 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 57,047 |
| Waste fuels | — | 154 | 4 | 4,356 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woody Biomass/Cellulosic Biofuel | — | 4,670 | 44 | 10,833 | 1,049 | — | — | 17,178 | — | — |