# Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders

> Operate or tend equipment to control chemical changes or reactions in the processing of industrial or consumer products. Equipment used includes devulcanizers, steam-jacketed kettles, and reactor vessels.

- **SOC code:** 51-9011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9011-00
- **Also known as:** Chemical Operator, Multiskill Operator, Outside Operator, Vessel Operator, Chlorination Operator, Process Operator, Spray Dry Operator, Acetone Recovery Worker
- **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):
- Observe safety precautions to prevent fires or explosions.
- Record operational data, such as temperatures, pressures, ingredients used, processing times, or test results.
- Control or operate equipment in which chemical changes or reactions take place during the processing of industrial or consumer products.
- Patrol work areas to detect leaks or equipment malfunctions or to monitor operating conditions.
- Draw samples of products at specified stages so that analyses can be performed.
- Adjust controls to regulate temperature, pressure, feed, or flow of liquids or gases and times of prescribed reactions, according to knowledge of equipment and processes.
- Monitor gauges, recording instruments, flowmeters, or products to ensure that specified conditions are maintained.
- Test product samples for specific gravity, chemical characteristics, pH levels, concentrations, or viscosities, or send them to laboratories for testing.
- Inspect equipment or units to detect leaks or malfunctions, shutting equipment down, if necessary.
- Open valves or start pumps, agitators, reactors, blowers, or automatic feed of materials.
- Read plant specifications to determine products, ingredients, or prescribed modifications of plant procedures.
- Implement appropriate industrial emergency response procedures.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Load products into tanks for shipment.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

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

**Skills in demand:**
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- SAP software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- IBM Notes
- Operational databases

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 28th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 35th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 26th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 27th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 62nd percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 3.3% growth (About average); 14.4k annual openings; 128.9k → 133.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $57,090; 127,410 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-51-9011-00_