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Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Wellhead Pumpers

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 Wellhead Pumpers 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 Wellhead Pumpers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$97,540
$70,010
Employment · BLS OEWS
34,860
17,350
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
14th pct
23rd pct

At a glance

Dimension Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Wellhead Pumpers
Median pay $97,540 $70,010
Employment 34,860 17,350
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-2.8%) Declining (-4.7%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 3,200 2,000
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 · 23rd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 55th pct · 29% of tasks 30th pct · 19% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
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, Perceptual Speed, Near Vision, Monitoring, Problem Sensitivity, Production and Processing, Mechanical, Reading Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Mathematics, Speaking, Complex Problem Solving, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Control Precision, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Visualization, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination.

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

  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Administration and Management
  • Selective Attention
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Auditory Attention
  • English Language
  • Writing

Specific to Wellhead Pumpers

  • Reaction Time
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Static Strength
  • Response Orientation
  • Trunk Strength
  • Speech Clarity

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 Wellhead Pumpers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers or Wellhead Pumpers — 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 Wellhead Pumpers." 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-wellhead-pumpers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Wellhead Pumpers. 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-wellhead-pumpers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers-vs-wellhead-pumpers,
  title  = {Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers vs Wellhead Pumpers},
  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-wellhead-pumpers}
}

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