# Chemical Plant and System Operators

> Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.

- **SOC code:** 51-8091.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-8091-00
- **Also known as:** Chemical Operator, Loader Technician, Process Operator, Process Technician, Process Control Operator, Process Development Associate, Production Technician, Ammonia Still Operator
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Monitor recording instruments, flowmeters, panel lights, or other indicators and listen for warning signals to verify conformity of process conditions.
- Regulate or shut down equipment during emergency situations, as directed by supervisory personnel.
- Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines, using panelboards, control boards, or semi-automatic equipment.
- Move control settings to make necessary adjustments on equipment units affecting speeds of chemical reactions, quality, or yields.
- 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.
- Draw samples of products and conduct quality control tests to monitor processing and to ensure that standards are met.
- Record operating data, such as process conditions, test results, or instrument readings.
- Patrol work areas to ensure that solutions in tanks or troughs are not in danger of overflowing.
- Turn valves to regulate flow of products or byproducts through agitator tanks, storage drums, or neutralizer tanks.
- Interpret chemical reactions visible through sight glasses or on television monitors and review laboratory test reports for process adjustments.
- Confer with technical and supervisory personnel to report or resolve conditions affecting safety, efficiency, or product quality.
- 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.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Operations Monitoring _(transferable_skill)_
- Operation and Control _(transferable_skill)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Selective Attention _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_
- Chemistry _(knowledge)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Quality Control Analysis _(transferable_skill)_
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Alarm management system software
- Coordinated incident management system CIMS software
- Distributed control system DCS
- Interlock shutdown systems

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 24th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 38th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 30th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 9th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 71st percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -6.1% growth (Declining); 1.6k annual openings; 18.1k → 17k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $73,540; 17,840 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-8091-00_