Plant Operator (Rotating Shift)
Location
Evanston, IL
Wage
$44.06/hr
Posted on August 24, 2026
Location
Evanston, IL
Wage
$44.06/hr
Posted on August 24, 2026
The Plant Operator position at Northwestern University involves operating and maintaining high-pressure steam boilers and auxiliaries in a safe and efficient manner under the supervision of the shift operating engineer. The role emphasizes inclusiveness, respect, initiative, collaboration, innovation, and accountability while providing excellent service and adhering to safety procedures.
At roughly $44/hr, this posting sits about 42% above the $31/hr median for welding jobs across Illinois — toward the top of a $25–$38/hr middle band drawn from 252 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 85% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.
Evanston, IL is a small market in our index: 2 other active welding openings alongside this one, from 2 employers. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 367 other active welding openings from 265 employers. With this few local postings, most welders here end up either commuting or looking at travel work. Browse welding jobs across Illinois.
The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are S&C Electric Company (18), Gerber Collision & Glass (8), and Aerotek (7). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.
Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $36/hr, Itasca at $36/hr, and Melrose Park at $34/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.
Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Plant Operator (Rotating Shift) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.