Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
Tend, control, or operate power-driven, stationary, or portable pumps and manifold systems to transfer gases, oil, other liquids, slurries, or powdered materials to and from various vessels and processes.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Troubleshooting
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Monitor gauges and flowmeters and inspect equipment to ensure that tank levels, temperatures, chemical amounts, and pressures are at specified levels, reporting abnormalities as necessary.
- Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, stocks used, gauging results, and operating times.
- Communicate with other workers, using signals, radios, or telephones, to start and stop flows of materials or substances.
- Tend vessels that store substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials, checking levels of substances by using calibrated rods or by reading mercury gauges and tank charts.
- Turn valves and start pumps to start or regulate flows of substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials.
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of interconnections and capacities of pipelines, valve manifolds, pumps, and tankage.
- Read operating schedules or instructions or receive verbal orders to determine amounts to be pumped.
- Clean, lubricate, and repair pumps and vessels, using hand tools and equipment.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (60.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (34.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (28.8%)
- 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 Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers 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 61% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 70% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 79% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 86% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 97% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 85% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 75% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: 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: 2.76%
- Contact with others about half the time: 19.16%
- Contact with others most of the time: 28.79%
- Constant contact with others: 49.28%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 3.97%
- Important: 8.21%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: 2.49%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 1.39%
- Important: 40.6%
- Very important: 29.53%
- Extremely important: 28.48%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 34.78%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 31.24%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 0.03%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.52%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 40.45%
- Every day: 9.07%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 30.24%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 57.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.37%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.6%
- Every day: 0%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 6.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 65.81%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.36%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.06%
- Every day: 0.02%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 8.92%
- Fairly serious: 8.96%
- Serious: 29.63%
- Very serious: 18.76%
- Extremely serious: 33.74%
n = 29, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 53-7072.00 · SOC 53-7072 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8