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Oil & Gas Midstream
Kinder Morgan, Enterprise Products Partners, Enbridge
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
Pump operators keep liquids and gases moving through tanks, pipelines, and processing equipment in places like refineries, terminals, and chemical plants. The job is hands-on and detail-heavy: you spend a lot of time watching gauges, changing valves, and checking equipment, because a small mistake can stop production or create a safety problem. It offers solid middle-income pay, but the work is site-based, tightly scheduled, and the field grows slowly.
Also known as Pump Station OperatorTerminal OperatorTank Farm OperatorProcess Plant OperatorBulk Transfer Operator
Median Salary
$60,020
Mean $61,950
U.S. Workforce
~13K
1.5K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+2.6%
13.1K to 13.5K
Entry Education
High school diploma or equivalent
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers sits in the Trades category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~13K workers, with a median annual pay of $60,020 and roughly 1.5K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 13.1 K in 2024 to 13.5K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with High school diploma or equivalent, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Trainee / Utility Operator and can progress toward Operations Supervisor. High-value skills usually include Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, and Operation and Control, paired with soft skills such as Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension.
Core Responsibilities
- Hook up hoses and pipe connections before moving product from one tank or vessel to another.
- Watch gauges, flow meters, temperatures, and pressure readings to make sure everything stays in the safe range.
- Coordinate with coworkers by radio or phone to start, stop, or reroute material flow at the right time.
- Follow shift instructions and production schedules to decide how much material needs to be pumped and where it should go.
Keep exploring: more Trades careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Hook up hoses and pipe connections before moving product from one tank or vessel to another.
02 Watch gauges, flow meters, temperatures, and pressure readings to make sure everything stays in the safe range.
03 Coordinate with coworkers by radio or phone to start, stop, or reroute material flow at the right time.
04 Follow shift instructions and production schedules to decide how much material needs to be pumped and where it should go.
05 Write down what was moved, how much was used, and any unusual readings or equipment problems during the shift.
06 Clean, oil, and repair pumps and related equipment, and check storage vessels to make sure levels stay where they should.
Industries That Hire
⛽
Petroleum Refining
Marathon Petroleum, Valero, Phillips 66
⚗️
Chemical Manufacturing
Dow, BASF, DuPont
🏭
Industrial Gas Production
Linde, Air Products, Air Liquide
🚢
Bulk Storage and Terminal Operations
Plains All American, Buckeye Partners, Magellan Midstream
Pros and Cons
Advantages
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The pay is respectable for a role that usually does not require a college degree: the median is $60,020 and the mean is $61,950.
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You can enter the field with a high school diploma and moderate-term training, which makes it accessible compared with many technical jobs.
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There are about 1.5 thousand annual openings, so people who learn the systems well can find opportunities in plants, terminals, and refineries.
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The work is concrete and observable: you can see the product move, catch a problem early, and know whether your adjustments worked.
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Skills in monitoring, maintenance, and shift coordination can lead to better-paying plant jobs over time.
Challenges
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Growth is slow at 2.6% through 2034, so this is not a fast-expanding occupation and new openings will stay limited.
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The job is almost always on-site, because someone has to be physically present to watch equipment, move product, and respond to alarms.
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Safety pressure is real: you may work around pressure systems, chemicals, heat, and moving machinery, where a small mistake can become a serious incident.
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The pay can plateau unless you move into lead or supervisor roles, so the $60,020 median may feel limiting over time.
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Long-term demand can be affected by automation and centralized monitoring, which is a structural risk for operator jobs in some facilities.
Career Progression
Trainee / Utility Operator
0-2 years
$39K-$48K
New workers learn the layout of the plant, basic safety rules, and how to help with hookups, cleanup, and routine checks.
Pump Operator
2-5 years
$52K-$68K
Operators handle routine transfer work, watch equipment closely, and make day-to-day decisions about flow and pressure.
Senior Pump Operator / Lead Operator THIS ROLE
5-9 years
$68K-$84K
Experienced operators take on trickier systems, help train newer staff, and respond to abnormal readings or equipment issues.
Operations Supervisor
9+ years
$84K-$105K
Supervisors oversee shifts, assign work, coordinate maintenance, and make sure transfer work stays safe and on schedule.
Education Paths
High school diploma or equivalent
BLS lists this as the typical entry point, and workers usually learn the rest through moderate-term on-the-job training.
Some college courses
This is the largest O*NET education share at 8.48%, which suggests some workers come in with a bit of college-level preparation.
Post-secondary certificate
A certificate is a realistic alternative route, and 8.4% of workers in the O*NET distribution report this level.
Associate's degree
An associate’s degree is less common but still relevant, showing up for 4.61% of workers in the O*NET data.
Key Skills
Technical
Operations Monitoring 78%
Monitoring 70%
Operation and Control 70%
SCADA & HMI Control Systems 72%
Pumps, Valves & Piping Systems 75%
Gauge, Flowmeter & Level Instrument Reading 74%
Preventive Maintenance, Lubrication & Hand Tools 68%
Process Safety, Lockout/Tagout & Permit-to-Work 67%
Shift Logs, Production Records & Work Orders 65%
Soft Skills
Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionSpeakingJudgment and Decision MakingTeam Coordination Job Outlook and Trends
+2.6%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
1.5K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 13.1K to 13.5 K over the next decade, representing 2.6% growth. Around 1.5 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Rare. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.