Chemical Plant and System Operators
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
- O*NET-SOC code
51-8091.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$78,120
Employment, U.S.16,610
Median hourly wage$37.56
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $48,400 | $60,330 | $78,120 | $98,660 | $111,930 |
By state (35)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 230 | $91,610 | 1.02 |
| Arkansas | 240 | $91,610 | 1.72 |
| California | 780 | $87,550 | 0.40 |
| Colorado | 400 | $62,870 | 1.30 |
| Florida | 60 | $128,830 | 0.06 |
| Georgia | 220 | $49,230 | 0.43 |
| Idaho | 60 | $82,980 | 0.69 |
| Illinois | 160 | $65,710 | 0.24 |
| Indiana | 320 | $49,110 | 0.94 |
| Iowa | 490 | $60,440 | 2.93 |
| Kentucky | 40 | $97,550 | 0.19 |
| Louisiana | 3,400 | $100,060 | 16.43 |
| Maryland | 290 | $95,150 | 0.98 |
| Massachusetts | 570 | $83,710 | 1.47 |
| Michigan | 40 | $72,430 | 0.08 |
| Minnesota | 150 | $66,500 | 0.47 |
| Mississippi | 320 | $71,080 | 2.56 |
| Missouri | 450 | $55,470 | 1.45 |
| New Jersey | 330 | $86,820 | 0.73 |
| New Mexico | $72,610 | ||
| New York | 120 | $62,980 | 0.11 |
| North Carolina | 660 | $62,920 | 1.26 |
| Ohio | 240 | $67,580 | 0.40 |
| Oregon | 120 | $87,110 | 0.56 |
| Pennsylvania | 770 | $70,110 | 1.19 |
| South Carolina | 610 | $68,510 | 2.49 |
| South Dakota | 180 | $59,970 | 3.60 |
| Tennessee | 350 | $45,830 | 1.00 |
| Texas | 2,360 | $102,750 | 1.57 |
| Utah | 320 | $63,460 | 1.73 |
| Virginia | 760 | $63,000 | 1.74 |
| Washington | 350 | $60,120 | 0.92 |
| West Virginia | 380 | $81,710 | 5.02 |
| Wisconsin | 90 | $62,720 | 0.29 |
| Wyoming | 300 | $107,810 | 10.12 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Biomass Plant Technicians | 1-2 | 0.972 |
| 2 | Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders | 1-2 | 0.972 |
| 3 | Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 1-2 | 0.968 |
| 4 | Power Plant Operators | 1-2 | 0.968 |
| 5 | Biofuels Processing Technicians | 1-2 | 0.965 |
| 6 | Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators | 3 | 0.965 |
| 7 | Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 1-2 | 0.959 |
| 8 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers | 1-2 | 0.958 |
| 9 | Nuclear Technicians | 3 | 0.955 |
| 10 | Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators | 1-2 | 0.952 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Chemical Plant and System Operators, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biofuels Processing Technicians | Equipment Maintenance | 0.76 | 0.965 |
| Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas | Instructing | 1.00 | 0.940 |
| Wellhead Pumpers | Repairing | 0.87 | 0.940 |
| Boilermakers | Equipment Selection | 1.12 | 0.929 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Chemical Plant and System Operators, excluding software Chemical Plant and System Operators already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Operational databases | 4 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Computerized maintenance management system CMMS | 5 of 20 | 7.7x |
| Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software | 6 of 20 | 4.5x |
| SAP software | 11 of 20 | 1.8x |
| Autodesk AutoCAD | 5 of 20 | 1.3x |
| Microsoft Outlook | 14 of 20 | 1.0x |
| Email software | 5 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | 11 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Microsoft Access | 4 of 20 | 0.5x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 4.25 | 4.38 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.12 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical | 4.33 | 4.04 |
| Chemistry | 4.29 | 4.85 |
| Mathematics | 4.26 | 3.83 |
| Production and Processing | 3.77 | 3.44 |
| Physics | 3.74 | 2.99 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.62 | 2.42 |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.31 | 3.10 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.06 | 3.41 |
| English Language | 3.02 | 3.00 |
| Law and Government | 2.86 | 2.53 |
| Education and Training | 2.72 | 3.10 |
| Administration and Management | 2.44 | 2.41 |
| Design | 2.40 | 2.45 |
| Biology | 2.29 | 1.35 |
| Transportation | 2.24 | 2.74 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.03 | 1.09 |
| Food Production | 1.98 | 1.92 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 1.71 | 1.96 |
| Communications and Media | 1.71 | 1.08 |
| Administrative | 1.68 | 1.63 |
| Building and Construction | 1.45 | 1.20 |
| Psychology | 1.38 | 0.72 |
| Telecommunications | 1.35 | 0.75 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.35 | 0.68 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.34 | 0.66 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.33 | 0.35 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.07 | not rated |
| Geography | 1.05 | not rated |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.05 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.01 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.01 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.01 | not rated |
| Foreign Language | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Oral Expression | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Selective Attention | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Control Precision | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Far Vision | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Reaction Time | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Auditory Attention | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.00 | 3.62 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Rate Control | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Number Facility | 2.62 | 2.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Static Strength | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Memorization | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.50 | 2.12 |
| Depth Perception | 2.38 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 2.38 | 2.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Response Orientation | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Originality | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Stamina | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Sound Localization | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Night Vision | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Word hot
- Alarm management system software
- Coordinated incident management system CIMS software
- Distributed control system DCS
- Interlock shutdown systems
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles, LA | 740 | 68.50 | $102,310 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 1,720 | 39.39 | $104,410 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 460 | 9.59 | $92,260 |
| Mobile, AL | 110 | 6.12 | $96,210 |
| Spartanburg, SC | 100 | 5.61 | $68,810 |
| Richmond, VA | 340 | 4.83 | $77,930 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 1,420 | 4.05 | $106,020 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 280 | 2.32 | $64,360 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 100 | 2.06 | $60,430 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 100 | 1.54 | $57,370 |