Explore by Career/Production
Chemical Plant and System Operators
Control or operate entire chemical processes or system of machines.
- Median pay
- $73,540
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -6.1%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
What they do
- 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.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.