Chemical Plant and System Operators
ManufacturingO*NET 51-8091.00United States
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
- Median annual earnings
- $78,125
- Projected change
- −1.4%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 17.83K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
61.5% of the workforce
Growing to 17.59K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What chemical plant and system operators do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions.
- Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel.
- Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
- Inspect operating units, such as towers, soap-spray storage tanks, scrubbers, collectors, or driers to ensure that all are functioning and to maintain maximum efficiency.
- Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields.
- Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
- Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings.
- Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing.
- Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks.
- Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments.
- Confer with technical and supervisory personnel to report or resolve conditions affecting safety, efficiency, or product quality.
- Start pumps to wash and rinse reactor vessels, to exhaust gases or vapors, to regulate the flow of oil, steam, air, or perfume to towers, or to add products to converter or blending vessels.
- Notify maintenance, stationary engineering, or other auxiliary personnel to correct equipment malfunctions or to adjust power, steam, water, or air supplies.
- Repair or replace damaged equipment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $48,402
- 25th percentile
- $60,341
- 50th percentile
- $78,125
- 75th percentile
- $98,675
- 90th percentile
- $111,925
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $78,125 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−1.4%projected to decline
202517,834 jobs
2035 projected17,591 jobs
243 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 61.5%
- Bachelor's degree
- 36.3%
- Certificate
- 1%
- Some college
- 0.5%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 0.3%
- Associate degree
- 0.2%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 0.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Production Operators2,398 postings
- 02Sterile Processing Technicians1,607 postings
- 03Process Technicians1,104 postings
- 04Production Technicians1,062 postings
- 05Process Operators811 postings
- 06Processing Operators305 postings
- 07Processing Technicians267 postings
- 08Chemical Process Operators226 postings
- 09Utility Operators210 postings
- 10Chemical Plant Operators139 postings
- 11Production Machine Operators134 postings
- 12Plasma Processing Technicians127 postings
- 13Chemical Production Operators125 postings
- 14Chemical Process Technicians116 postings
- 15Central Sterile Processing Technicians109 postings
- 16Manufacturing Production Operators109 postings
- 17Process Engineering Technicians92 postings
- 18Pilot Plant Technicians54 postings
- 19Manufacturing Process Technicians48 postings
- 20Laboratory Technicians46 postings
Top employers
- 01Aerotek307 postings
- 02MedPro Healthcare Staffing144 postings
- 03Land O'Lakes135 postings
- 04CSL126 postings
- 05Actalent111 postings
- 06Landolakes105 postings
- 07Valley Queen Cheese Factory101 postings
- 08Avient91 postings
- 09United States Department of Veterans Affairs83 postings
- 10Kelly Services78 postings
- 11H.B. Fuller77 postings
- 12Mercyhealth76 postings
- 13Kaiser Permanente65 postings
- 14TTM Technologies64 postings
- 15ManpowerGroup60 postings
- 16Chromalloy56 postings
- 17The Sheridan Group52 postings
- 18Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation43 postings
- 19Darling Ingredients42 postings
- 20System One41 postings
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