Career
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers
Run refineries and pumping systems.
$96,710
Median pay
-1.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,700
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.
- Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled.
- Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
- Start pumps and open valves or use automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks.
- Operate control panels to coordinate and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, according to process schedules.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $96,710 a year and 2,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Gas Plant Operators$87,820 · -6.0%
- Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators$77,320 · +2.1%
- Wellhead Pumpers$69,960 · -2.0%
- Power Plant Operators$102,040 · -5.1%
- Chemical Plant and System Operators$78,120 · -5.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.