Gas Plant Operators
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Quality Control Analysis
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Monitor transportation and storage of flammable and other potentially dangerous products to ensure that safety guidelines are followed.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
- Start and shut down plant equipment.
- Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
- Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (58.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (51.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (45.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Gas Plant Operators is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 64% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 73% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 57% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 70% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 56% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 70% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 94% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 30.99%
- Contact with others most of the time: 17.72%
- Constant contact with others: 51.3%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 19.01%
- Fairly important: 26.57%
- Important: 24.83%
- Very important: 13.77%
- Extremely important: 15.82%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 7.23%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 36.83%
- Extremely important: 55.95%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 3.65%
- Limited freedom: 10.62%
- Some freedom: 47.44%
- A lot of freedom: 38.29%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.98%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.6%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.08%
- Every day: 19.35%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 8.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.29%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 45.55%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.32%
- Every day: 0%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 25.1%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 30.56%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.54%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.14%
- Every day: 3.65%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 4.2%
- Fairly serious: 7.16%
- Serious: 4.84%
- Very serious: 24.75%
- Extremely serious: 59.05%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 51-8092.00 · SOC 51-8092 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8