---
title: "Petroleum Pump System Operator, Refinery Operator, and Gauger"
description: "Operate or control petroleum refining or processing units. May specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/petroleum-pump-system-operator-refinery-operator-and-gauger"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Petroleum Pump System Operator, Refinery Operator, and Gauger

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-8093 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-8093.00

Operate or control petroleum refining or processing units. May specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.

Also advertised as: Board Operator; Crude Unit Operator; Gauger; Hydrotreater Operator; Operator; Outside Operator; Pumper; Refinery Operator.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $96,710 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $46.50/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $57,110 to $115,880, with the middle half between $77,510 and $106,320
- **Total US employment:** 33,160
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -1.9% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,700 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 48/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 33,160 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $57,110 |
| 25th | $77,510 |
| 50th (median) | $96,710 |
| 75th | $106,320 |
| 90th | $115,880 |
| Mean (average) | $90,630 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AK | $124,530 | $121,660 | 370 |
| LA | $106,640 | $120,897 | 3,490 |
| UT | $105,980 | $107,198 | 600 |
| OH | $105,150 | $113,340 | 800 |
| NJ | $104,540 | $96,080 | 420 |
| WA | $103,620 | $96,829 | 930 |
| CA | $103,250 | $93,253 | 3,360 |
| IL | $102,890 | $102,933 | 1,070 |
| MN | $101,910 | $103,335 | 550 |
| KS | $101,880 | $113,115 | 950 |
| WY | $100,350 | $108,263 | 560 |
| MT | $98,310 | $103,872 | 550 |
| TN | $96,730 | $105,290 | 170 |
| OK | $95,140 | $108,307 | 1,390 |
| HI | $94,900 | $86,311 | 280 |

28 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 43 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/petroleum-pump-system-operator-refinery-operator-and-gauger/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/petroleum-pump-system-operator-refinery-operator-and-gauger.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 32,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 32,300 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 600 jobs, or -1.9%. Declining: -1.9% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,700 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 97.0% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 1.7% |
| Some College Courses | 1.3% |

## What the work involves

- Maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning equipment to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled.
- Conduct general housekeeping of units, including wiping up oil spills and performing general cleaning duties.
- Monitor process indicators, instruments, gauges, and meters to detect and report any possible problems.
- Signal other workers by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures.
- Collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples.
- Start pumps and open valves or use automated equipment to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks.
- Verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly.
- Record and compile operating data, instrument readings, documentation, and results of laboratory analyses.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Production and Processing — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Information Ordering — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Flexibility of Closure — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Perceptual Speed — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Selective Attention — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.17 |
| C — Conventional | 5.06 |
| I — Investigative | 2.44 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.24 |
| S — Social | 1.33 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 92.9 |
| ESTJ | 80.0 |
| ISFJ | 77.2 |
| ISTP | 74.1 |
| INTJ | 65.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Gas Plant Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/gas-plant-operator) — median $87,820
- [Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/gas-compressor-and-gas-pumping-station-operator) — median $77,320
- [Wellhead Pumper](https://nuecareer.com/careers/wellhead-pumper) — median $69,960
- [Power Plant Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/power-plant-operator) — median $102,040
- [Chemical Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-plant-and-system-operator) — median $78,120
- [Pump Operator, Except Wellhead Pumpers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pump-operator) — median $61,770
- [Biomass Plant Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biomass-plant-technician) — median $102,040
- [Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-and-system-operator) — median $60,020
- [Stationary Engineer and Boiler Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stationary-engineer-and-boiler-operator) — median $78,620
- [Biofuels Processing Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biofuels-processing-technician) — median $62,470

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/petroleum-pump-system-operator-refinery-operator-and-gauger