← All 785 jobsFile 51-8091
Chemical Plant and System Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 5.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -5.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $78,120 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 16,700 in the US, with about 1,300 openings a year
The work, 13 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment19%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation17%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Test characteristics of materials or products11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect samples of products or materials6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
AI helps with this: Coordinate with others to resolve problems6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 738 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate pumping systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Determine resource needs of projects or operations3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,590 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 95 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 1,300 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 62% of the workChemical Equipment Operators and Tenders4% AI does, against 0% here+3.6% by 2035 · $58,040 · High school diploma
- Shares 58% of the workWater and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators0% AI does, against 0% here-5.7% by 2035 · $60,020 · High school diploma
- Shares 58% of the workPetroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers9% AI does, against 0% here-1.9% by 2035 · $96,710 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.05, higher than 10% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-8091 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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