Career
Chemical equipment operators and tenders
Run equipment that makes chemical products.
$58,040
Median pay
+3.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
13,900
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Observe safety precautions to prevent fires or explosions.
- Patrol work areas to detect leaks or equipment malfunctions or to monitor operating conditions.
- Monitor gauges, recording instruments, flowmeters, or products to ensure that specified conditions are maintained.
- Inspect equipment or units to detect leaks or malfunctions, shutting equipment down, if necessary.
- Record operational data, such as temperatures, pressures, ingredients used, processing times, or test results.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Observe safety precautions to prevent fires or explosions.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $58,040 a year and 13,900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Chemical Technology/TechnicianCIP 41.0301
- Chemical Process TechnologyCIP 41.0303
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Chemical Plant and System Operators$78,120 · -5.2%
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$51,610 · -5.7%
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$60,020 · -5.7%
- Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders$43,530 · +3.4%
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$48,750 · -9.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.