Monitor and control the equipment and gauges that refine crude oil into gasoline, diesel, and other fuels.
You may also see this posted as: Gauger, Operator, Pumper, Board Operator, Crude Unit Operator, Hydrotreater Operator.
Oil refineries and processing plants
Rotating shifts, including nights and weekends
Realistic
working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world
Conventional
organizing information, following systems, and getting details right
Investigative
solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work
O*NET job zone 2 of 5
Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: Paid on-the-job training after high school.
Related work experience: None.
On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.
No license is required, though operators often earn a process-operator certification for the plant they run.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
Runs the equipment that turns crude oil into fuel, a control-room and plant role distinct from the field crews who drill and pump oil.
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Standard Occupational Classification 51-8093. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.