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

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Power Plant Operators and Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers 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.”

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

At a glance

Dimension Power Plant Operators Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Median pay $99,670 $97,540
Employment 30,720 34,860
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-11.2%) Declining (-2.8%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,500 3,200
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 · 17th pct Low · 14th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 51st pct · 28% of tasks 55th pct · 29% 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, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Mechanical, Operation and Control, Deductive Reasoning, Critical Thinking, Near Vision, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Oral Expression, Production and Processing, Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, Inductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Perceptual Speed, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Comprehension, Flexibility of Closure, Selective Attention, Manual Dexterity, Writing, Written Expression, Category Flexibility, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Finger Dexterity.

Specific to Power Plant Operators

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

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

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 Power Plant Operators

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

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Power Plant Operators or Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers — 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. "Power Plant Operators vs Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers." 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/power-plant-operators-vs-petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers

APA

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

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-power-plant-operators-vs-petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers,
  title  = {Power Plant Operators vs Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers},
  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/power-plant-operators-vs-petroleum-pump-system-operators-refinery-operators-and-gaugers}
}

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