← All 785 jobsFile 51-8099
Plant and System Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 2.3% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +2.3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $62,470 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 14,300 in the US, with about 1,200 openings a year
The work, 17 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: Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance17%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate energy production or distribution equipment13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Evaluate production inputs or outputs8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Operate pumping systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect samples of products or materials5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas3%
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.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 102 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 1,200 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 50% of the workPower Plant Operators5% AI does, against 0% here-5.1% by 2035 · $102,040 · High school diploma
- Shares 49% of the workStationary Engineers and Boiler Operators5% AI does, against 0% here+3.1% by 2035 · $78,620 · High school diploma
- Shares 44% of the workChemical Equipment Operators and Tenders4% AI does, against 0% here+3.6% by 2035 · $58,040 · 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 0.03, higher than 5% 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, 51-8099 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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