# Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers

> Tend, control, or operate power-driven, stationary, or portable pumps and manifold systems to transfer gases, oil, other liquids, slurries, or powdered materials to and from various vessels and processes.

- **SOC code:** 53-7072.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-7072-00
- **Also known as:** Outside Operator, Pipeline Operator, Pumper, Tank Farm Operator, Boom Pump Operator, Chemical Pumper, Day Light Relief Operator, Pipeline Dispatch 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 gauges and flowmeters and inspect equipment to ensure that tank levels, temperatures, chemical amounts, and pressures are at specified levels, reporting abnormalities as necessary.
- Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, stocks used, gauging results, and operating times.
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of interconnections and capacities of pipelines, valve manifolds, pumps, and tankage.
- Communicate with other workers, using signals, radios, or telephones, to start and stop flows of materials or substances.
- Turn valves and start pumps to start or regulate flows of substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials.
- Connect hoses and pipelines to pumps and vessels prior to material transfer, using hand tools.
- Tend vessels that store substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials, checking levels of substances by using calibrated rods or by reading mercury gauges and tank charts.
- Clean, lubricate, and repair pumps and vessels, using hand tools and equipment.
- Read operating schedules or instructions or receive verbal orders to determine amounts to be pumped.
- Tend auxiliary equipment such as water treatment and refrigeration units, and heat exchangers.
- Collect and deliver sample solutions for laboratory analysis.
- Add chemicals and solutions to tanks to ensure that specifications are met.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

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

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

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
- Operational databases
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 34th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 24th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 50th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 78th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 2.6% growth (About average); 1.5k annual openings; 13.1k → 13.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $60,020; 12,600 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/
- **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-53-7072-00_