What does a unix system operator do?

An operator logs on and runs programs. Usually, I might add under loose or tight supervision of a Unix System administrator. An administrator manages accounts, kills programs which hang and does other maintenance work on the system. One usually needs administrative privileges to start and shut down the machine. Accordingly, you are strongly advised to discuss this with someone in your area rather than on Yahoo! Answers because there is some overlap but you should also be clear which you are talking about.