Chemical Plant and System Operators

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$78,120

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$60,330 – $98,660

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

16,610

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-5.2%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,300

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

Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.

Main tasks

• Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions.
• 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.
• Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
• Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing.
• Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel.
• 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.

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.

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.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders

  $58,040 median · +3.6% 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

• Power Plant Operators

  $102,040 median · -5.1% projected

• Gas Plant Operators

  $87,820 median · -6% projected

• Chemical Engineers

  $125,040 median · +4.7% projected