Also called: Board Operator, Process Operator
Controls the reactors, distillation towers and pipes of a chemical plant from a control room and on outdoor rounds.
You sit at a wall of screens in the control room, watching temperatures and pressures across the plant. Every few hours you put on your hard hat and walk the unit, checking gauges and listening for odd sounds. During a shutdown you work long hours helping safely restart.
BLS figures for chemical plant and system operators; approximate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 1 year after high school. High school plus long on-the-job training; process technology associate degree helps a lot.
Ways in: On-the-job training, 2-year college, Military. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Process Technology (2-year), Chemical Technology.
Shrinking (about -4% over 10 years).
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Advanced control and AI run more of the plant; operators still do field rounds and handle upsets, but crews slowly shrink.
Classes: Chemistry, Algebra II, Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-8091.
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.