Operate pumps or compressors.

Operate pumps or compressors. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 7 occupations and seen in 8 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Operate pumping systems or equipment. in Controlling Machines and Processes .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 8 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 0 (0%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Tend pumps, compressors, or generators to provide power for tools, machinery, or equipment or to heat or move materials, such as asphalt. · Construction Laborers · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Pour water into wells, or pump water or slush into wells to cool drill bits and to remove drillings. · Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well. · Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Start pumps that circulate mud through drill pipes and boreholes to cool drill bits and flush out drill cuttings. · Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil. · Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas · importance 4.2 · no direct exposure
• Turn valves to control air or water output of compressors or pumps. · Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators · importance 3.1 · no direct exposure
• Operate motorized pumps to remove water from flooded manholes, basements, or facility floors. · Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters · importance 2.9 · no direct exposure
• Tend machines that pump concrete, grout, cement, sand, plaster, or stucco through spray guns for application to ceilings or walls. · Construction Laborers · importance 2.7 · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Construction Laborers
• Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
• Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
• Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
• Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
• Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

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.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-operate-pumps-or-compressors,
  title  = {Operate pumps or compressors.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/operate-pumps-or-compressors}
}