Gas Plant Operators
US occupation · SOC 51-8092
Job titles people report: Compressor Technician (Compressor Tech), Engine Room Operator, Gas Controller, Gas Dispatcher, Gas Plant Operator, Gas Resource Control Operator, Gas System Operator, Liquefied Natural Gas Technician (LNG Technician), Liquid Natural Gas Plant Operator (LNG Plant Operator), Plant Operator
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $87,820
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $76,870 – $100,870
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 18,030
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -6%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,400
- 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
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
Main tasks
- 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.
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: long-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 1 programme 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.
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
- Petroleum Technology/Technician
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Power Plant Operators
$102,040 median · -5.1% projected
- Chemical Plant and System Operators
$78,120 median · -5.2% projected
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
$60,020 median · -5.7% projected
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
$74,340 median · +4.3% projected
- Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders
$58,040 median · +3.6% projected
- Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
$58,160 median · +1.1% 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