Energy · Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix pays power-line installers about 21% and power plant operators about a third below U.S. medians, so Valley utilities often compete for out-of-state talent on pay. Careerscape's industry-focused recruiters run those searches remotely, as a national agency rather than a local shop.
Who hires
Phoenix has almost no oil and gas employment. The large energy employers are power companies. Named as market context only, not as clients.
The state's largest utility, owned by Phoenix-based Pinnacle West Capital and regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission. Its generation fleet mixes nuclear, gas, solar and storage, and it operates Palo Verde.
SRP is a public power district rather than an investor-owned utility. It shares the metro's electric service area with APS and runs its own generation, transmission and water operations.
The three-reactor nuclear plant near Tonopah, about 45 miles west of downtown, is operated by APS and co-owned by several Southwest utilities, including SRP. Its licenses run through 2045 to 2047.
BLS counted 1,000 solar photovoltaic installers in the metro in May 2025, about twice the national share. Contractors hire in project waves, so contract and temporary staffing are common.
BLS May 2025
Power-line installers (location quotient 1.4, 2,810 jobs) and solar installers (2.09) are more concentrated here than nationally, and electrical engineers are slightly above the U.S. share at 1.13. BLS did not publish Phoenix figures for petroleum engineers, roustabouts, wind turbine technicians or chemical engineers, a sign of how little oil, gas and wind work is based in the Valley.
| Occupation | Jobs in metro | Median pay · vs. U.S. | Concentration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical Engineers | 3,420 | $99,160−18% | 1.13 |
| Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | 2,810 | $75,420−21% | 1.40 |
| Power Plant Operators | 150 | $67,580−34% | 0.34 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Installers | 1,000 | $51,200−4% | 2.09 |
| Environmental Engineers | 520 | $94,470−12% | 0.88 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 340 | $81,750−20% | 0.94 |
| Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 80 | $70,220−27% | 0.15 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 3,250 | $169,310−1% | 0.97 |
The pay gap is the main story. Line installers earn a $75,420 median, about 21% below the U.S. median of $95,320. Power plant operators earn $67,580 against $102,040 nationally, about a third less, and the metro has only 150 of them (LQ 0.34). Electrical engineers earn $99,160, about 18% below the U.S. Nuclear reactor operators are a separate BLS occupation and are not in this table. Jobs and median annual pay for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area, all employers, from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). “Vs. U.S.” compares with the national median. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: above 1.0 means the job makes up a bigger share of local employment than it does nationally.
Demand
TSMC's first Arizona fab has been in volume production since late 2024, and more fabs are being built on the same North Phoenix campus. Each is a large, round-the-clock electric load that the Valley's utilities have to plan, connect and serve.
Utility fleets are changing at the same time. New solar, battery storage and gas capacity needs interconnection, controls and protection specialists, while Palo Verde and the gas fleet still need operators and maintenance staff. With only 150 power plant operators in the metro, those roles are the hardest to fill.
Arizona regulation shapes the jobs too. The Arizona Corporation Commission, created by Article 15 of the state constitution, has five commissioners and regulates public utilities and pipeline safety. Rate cases and resource plans there drive hiring for regulatory, planning and environmental engineering roles.
Where it clusters
The metro is wide, and a plant shift near Tonopah is a different commute from an office in Tempe.
Palo Verde Generating Station, about 45 miles west of downtown. Nuclear operations, maintenance, radiation protection and security roles, with long commutes for East Valley candidates.
Pinnacle West Capital, the APS parent, is headquartered in Phoenix. Corporate engineering, regulatory, finance and resource-planning roles.
TSMC's fab campus off I-17 and SR 303, a large new round-the-clock electric load. Substation, transmission and large-load account work for the utilities serving it.
ASU's Tempe campus hosts the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering; its Polytechnic campus in Mesa adds manufacturing and engineering technology programs. A source of entry-level grid and solar engineers.
Hiring advice
Practical steps for Valley utilities, contractors and developers.
Line installers, plant operators and electrical engineers all earn well below U.S. medians here. Candidates from Texas, California or Colorado will compare offers to what they earn now, so budget above the local median for out-of-state hires.
With only 150 power plant operators in the metro, a local-only search is thin. Contract-to-hire lets an experienced operator from another state try the role before relocating.
Line, solar and substation crews work outdoors in extreme heat. Say how shifts, breaks and start times work in the posting; candidates ask.
Arizona requires every employer to use E-Verify. Our Phoenix staffing guide covers that and the state's other hiring rules.
Solar installation runs in project waves. Temporary staffing covers the peak; crew leads and site supervisors are usually worth a direct hire.
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FAQ
BLS reports a $75,420 median for power-line installers in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro in May 2025, about 21% below the $95,320 U.S. median, even though the metro has more of them than average (location quotient 1.4). BLS does not explain the gap. For employers it means out-of-state candidates often expect more than local pay, so set ranges with national data in mind.
The large employers are power companies. Arizona Public Service, owned by Phoenix-based Pinnacle West, and Salt River Project, a public power district, share the metro's electric service. APS operates the three-reactor Palo Verde nuclear plant west of Phoenix. Solar contractors are the other big group. We name them as market context, not clients.
Yes, as a national search. Nuclear operations, maintenance and engineering experience is concentrated around a small number of U.S. plants, so Careerscape's energy recruiters search nationally and screen for plant experience, site access history and relocation. Most of these roles are direct hires. See our energy staffing services for how a search works.
Very little. BLS did not publish Phoenix-area figures for petroleum engineers, oil and gas roustabouts or chemical engineers in May 2025, and refinery operators and gaugers are rare at 80 jobs. Phoenix energy recruiting is mostly power, transmission, nuclear and solar. For oil and gas roles, Houston and Denver hold the deepest pools among the markets we cover.
The Arizona Corporation Commission, created by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution, regulates public utilities including APS, as well as pipeline safety. It has five commissioners. Salt River Project is a public power district rather than an investor-owned utility. Rate cases and resource plans before the commission often drive regulatory and planning hiring.
Send us the search. We recruit nationally when the Valley pool is thin and send a short, screened list.
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