Also called: Gas Control Operator, SCADA Controller
Runs hundreds of miles of oil or gas pipeline from a control room, opening valves and starting pumps remotely.
You watch pressures and flows on a wall of screens, adjust pumps to meet demand, and react instantly to an alarm that could mean a leak.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus extensive company training and federal qualification.
Ways in: On-the-job training, 2-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Process Technology (2-year).
Growing slowly. Oil and gas jobs swing up and down with oil prices; long-term outlook is flat to slightly growing.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI leak detection and automated control are growing, so fewer controllers watch more pipeline.
Classes: Computer science, Physics, Algebra 2.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-8093.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.