Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
US occupation · SOC 51-9011
Job titles people report: Chemical Operator (Chemical Tech), Chemical Process Operator, Chemical Reactor Operator, Chlorination Operator, Multiskill Operator, Outside Operator, Process Equipment Operator, Process Operator, Spray Dry Operator
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $58,040
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $45,970 – $74,080
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 139,630
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +3.6%
- At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 13,900
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Operate or tend equipment to control chemical changes or reactions in the processing of industrial or consumer products. Equipment used includes devulcanizers, steam-jacketed kettles, and reactor vessels.
Main tasks
- Observe safety precautions to prevent fires or explosions.
- Patrol work areas to detect leaks or equipment malfunctions or to monitor operating conditions.
- Monitor gauges, recording instruments, flowmeters, or products to ensure that specified conditions are maintained.
- Inspect equipment or units to detect leaks or malfunctions, shutting equipment down, if necessary.
- Record operational data, such as temperatures, pressures, ingredients used, processing times, or test results.
- Draw samples of products at specified stages so that analyses can be performed.
- Measure, weigh, and mix chemical ingredients, according to specifications.
- Open valves or start pumps, agitators, reactors, blowers, or automatic feed of materials.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Science Technologies/Technicians
- Chemical Technology/Technician
- Chemical Process Technology
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Chemical Plant and System Operators
$78,120 median · -5.2% projected
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
$51,610 median · -5.7% projected
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
$60,020 median · -5.7% projected
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$48,750 median · -9.5% projected
- Chemical Engineers
$125,040 median · +4.7% projected
- Gas Plant Operators
$87,820 median · -6% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk