Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Chemical Plant and System Operators
Occupation · SOC 51-8091.00
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
Also called: Chemical Operator · Loader Technician · Process Operator · Process Technician · Process Control Operator · Process Development Associate · Production Technician · Ammonia Still Operator · Ammonia Technician · Badger Distiller Operator · Bucket Wash Operator · Chemical Plant Operator
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-8091-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-6.1% by 2034)
- 1,600 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $73,540/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (71st); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (24th)
24th-percentile task overlap — yet about 1,600 openings a year (-6.1% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 38th | -0.4 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 30th | 0.3 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 9th | 0.0 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.2), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.3). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.8 · 71st percentile among occupations · High
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Calculate material requirements or yields according to formulas. | 0.2% | |
| Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments. | 0.2% | |
| Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -6.1% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 1,600 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 18,100 → 17,000 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Chemical Plant and System Operators sits at the 56th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
29% mean task exposure (2025)
56th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−7 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical Processing Plant Controllers · 3133 | 29% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 19 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions. Core · importance 4.7
- Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel. Core · importance 4.7
- Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment. Core · importance 4.7
- Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields. Core · importance 4.7
- Inspect operating units, such as towers, soap-spray storage tanks, scrubbers, collectors, or driers to ensure that all are functioning and to maintain maximum efficiency. Core · importance 4.6
- Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met. Core · importance 4.6
- Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing. Core · importance 4.5
- Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings. Core · importance 4.5
- Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks. Core · importance 4.5
- Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments. Core · importance 4.5
- Confer with technical and supervisory personnel to report or resolve conditions affecting safety, efficiency, or product quality. Core · importance 4.4
- Gauge tank levels, using calibrated rods. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Start pumps to wash and rinse reactor vessels, to exhaust gases or vapors, to regulate the flow of oil, steam, air, or perfume to towers, or to add products to converter or blending vessels. Core · importance 4.4
- Notify maintenance, stationary engineering, or other auxiliary personnel to correct equipment malfunctions or to adjust power, steam, water, or air supplies. Core · importance 4.4
- Calculate material requirements or yields according to formulas. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Repair or replace damaged equipment. Core · importance 4.3
- Direct workers engaged in operating machinery that regulates the flow of materials and products. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Supervise the cleaning of towers, strainers, or spray tips. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Defrost frozen valves, using steam hoses. Supplemental · importance 3.8
Work activities
- Operate chemical processing or water treatment systems or equipment.
- Monitor instruments to ensure proper production conditions.
- Record operational or production data.
- Confer with others to resolve production problems or equipment malfunctions.
- Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.
- Collect samples of materials or products for testing.
- Operate pumping systems or equipment.
- Analyze test results.
- Monitor equipment fluid levels.
- Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
- Inspect production equipment.
- Direct operational or production activities.
- Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
- Estimate material requirements for production.
- Replace worn equipment components.
- Repair production equipment or tools.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Transferable skills
| Operations Monitoring | 4.1 | |
| Operation and Control | 4.0 | |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.6 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Time Management | 3.3 |
Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.8 | |
| Near Vision | 3.8 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.6 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.6 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.5 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.5 | |
| Control Precision | 3.5 | |
| Far Vision | 3.5 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.4 | |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 3.4 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Reaction Time | 3.3 | |
| Auditory Attention | 3.3 | |
| Written Expression | 3.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.1 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.1 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.1 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.1 |
Knowledge
| Production and Processing | 3.7 | |
| Chemistry | 3.7 | |
| Mechanical | 3.6 | |
| English Language | 3.5 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.3 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.1 |
Essential skills
| Monitoring | 3.6 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 | |
| Active Listening | 3.4 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Active Learning | 3.3 | |
| Speaking | 3.1 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology |
| Alarm management system software | Industrial control software | |
| Coordinated incident management system CIMS software | Network security or virtual private network VPN management software | |
| Distributed control system DCS | Industrial control software | |
| Interlock shutdown systems | Industrial control software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Science Technologies/Technicians . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 1.0% | |
| Some College Courses | 0.5% | |
| Master's Degree | 0.3% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 0.2% | |
| Doctoral Degree | 0.2% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.2 | |
| Conventional | 5.2 | |
| Investigative | 3.2 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 6.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 5.0 | |
| Integrity | 4.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 3.0 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 2.2 | |
| Self-Control | 2.1 |
Interest areas
| Physical Science | 4.0 | |
| Engineering | 4.0 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 3.2 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.3 | |
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 2.1 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 2.0 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $48,000 |
| 25th percentile | $57,080 |
| Median (50th) | $73,540 |
| 75th percentile | $98,050 |
| 90th percentile | $107,790 |
| People employed | 17,840 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 15,840 | $74,530 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1,340 | $55,940 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 130 | $62,250 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 90 | $57,580 |
| Utilities · Sector | 60 | $101,880 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector | — | $98,060 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 10.73× | 15,840 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1.92× | 1,340 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.1× | 130 |
Related occupations
Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.
- Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders · 51-9011.00 Compare →
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9012.00 Compare →
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators · 51-8031.00 Compare →
- Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers · 51-8093.00 Compare →
- Biomass Plant Technicians · 51-8013.03 Compare →
- Power Plant Operators · 51-8013.00 Compare →
- Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders · 51-9192.00 Compare →
- Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators · 53-7071.00 Compare →
- Gas Plant Operators · 51-8092.00 Compare →
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators · 51-8021.00 Compare →
- Chemical Engineers · 17-2041.00 Compare →
- Biofuels Processing Technicians · 51-8099.01 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Chemical Plant and System Operators — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
- Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders Compare →
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Compare →
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators Compare →
- Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Compare →
- Biomass Plant Technicians Compare →
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Science Technologies/Technicians · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 56th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Chemical Plant and System Operators show 24th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,600 annual U.S. openings
- Chemical Plant and System Operators rank in the 24th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 1,600 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-6.1%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $73,540, across about 17,840 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Chemical Plant and System Operators show 24th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 1,600 annual U.S. openings • Chemical Plant and System Operators rank in the 24th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 1,600 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-6.1%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $73,540, across about 17,840 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Chemical Plant and System Operators". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-8091-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Chemical Plant and System 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/roles/role-51-8091-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Chemical Plant and System Operators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-8091-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-8091-00,
title = {Chemical Plant and System 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/roles/role-51-8091-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.