Gas Plant Operators
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 51-8092.00United States
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
- Median annual earnings
- $87,818
- Projected change
- −4.2%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 20.11K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
58.4% of the workforce
Growing to 19.27K by 2035
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The work
What gas plant operators do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
- Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
- Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
- Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
- Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.
- Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.
- Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.
- Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
- Start and shut down plant equipment.
- Read logsheets to determine product demand and disposition, or to detect malfunctions.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Test gas, chemicals, and air during processing to assess factors such as purity and moisture content, and to detect quality problems or gas or chemical leaks.
- Contact maintenance crews when necessary.
- Signal or direct workers who tend auxiliary equipment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $61,360
- 25th percentile
- $76,877
- 50th percentile
- $87,818
- 75th percentile
- $100,859
- 90th percentile
- $115,523
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $87,818 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−4.2%projected to decline
202520,111 jobs
2035 projected19,265 jobs
846 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
- 58.4%
- Certificate
- 31%
- Associate degree
- 10.5%
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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- 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.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Landfill Gas Technicians143 postings
- 02Field Technicians127 postings
- 03LDAR Technicians81 postings
- 04Technicians80 postings
- 05Gas Plant Operators48 postings
- 06Environmental Field Technicians45 postings
- 07Environmental Technicians42 postings
- 08Fuel Technicians35 postings
- 09Operations Technicians33 postings
- 10Utility Technicians19 postings
- 11Compressor Technicians18 postings
- 12Renewable Energy Managers18 postings
- 13Equipment Technicians14 postings
- 14Landfill Managers14 postings
- 15Solid Waste Managers10 postings
- 16Emissions Technicians9 postings
- 17Monitor Technicians9 postings
- 18Pump Technicians9 postings
- 19Utility Operators9 postings
- 20Leak Sealing Technicians7 postings
Top employers
- 01Actalent58 postings
- 02Waste Connections55 postings
- 03Love's36 postings
- 04Sparus Holdings31 postings
- 05Clean Harbors30 postings
- 06HPC Industrial30 postings
- 07Southern Cross Corporation30 postings
- 08Sitewise Corporation18 postings
- 09BP16 postings
- 10Continuum Environmental Services15 postings
- 11Energy Transfer15 postings
- 12SCS Engineers15 postings
- 13Aerotek13 postings
- 14Gfl Environmental13 postings
- 15Montrose Environmental Group12 postings
- 16Altagas Ltd.11 postings
- 17Diversified Energy11 postings
- 18Republic Services11 postings
- 19Edgeboro International10 postings
- 20Peoples Gas System10 postings
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