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Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Power Plant Operators

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers and Power Plant Operators on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Power Plant Operators
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$97,540
$99,670
Employment · BLS OEWS
34,860
30,720
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
14th pct
17th pct

At a glance

Dimension Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Power Plant Operators
Median pay $97,540 $99,670
Employment 34,860 30,720
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-2.8%) Declining (-11.2%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 3,200 2,500
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 14th pct Low · 17th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 55th pct · 29% of tasks 51st pct · 28% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — Automation-leaning (54.8%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Information Ordering, Flexibility of Closure, Perceptual Speed, Near Vision, Monitoring, Problem Sensitivity, Production and Processing, Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, Reading Comprehension, Selective Attention, Deductive Reasoning, English Language, Speaking, Complex Problem Solving, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Active Listening, Writing, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Expression, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity.

Specific to Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers

  • Administration and Management
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Auditory Attention
  • Speech Recognition
  • Mathematics
  • Control Precision
  • Active Learning
  • Time Management

Specific to Power Plant Operators

  • Chemistry
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Far Vision
  • Physics
  • Coordination
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software , Industrial control software .

Specific to Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers

Specific to Power Plant Operators

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers or Power Plant Operators — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Power Plant Operators." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers-vs-power-plant-operators

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Power Plant Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers-vs-power-plant-operators

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers-vs-power-plant-operators,
  title  = {Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Power Plant Operators},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers-vs-power-plant-operators}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.