Chemical plant and system operators

Definition

Control or operate an entire chemical process or system of machines.

2004 employment: 60,000
Projected 2004-14 employment change: decline
Most significant source of postsecondary education or training: Long-term on-the-job training

2004 employment: 60,000
2014 projected employment: 49,000
Change — numeric: -11,000; percent: -17.7%
2004 median annual earnings: $44,830; earnings group: very high
2004 self-employed: 0.1%
2004 part-time employment: very low
2004 unemployment: low
Typical education and training: Long-term on-the-job training
Educational attainment — high school: 54.0%; some college: 38.2%; bachelor's degree: 7.8%

source: Employment Matrix; about this section

National Average and Percentile Annual Earnings, May 2005

source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about this section

May 2005 Mean Annual Earnings and Employment, wage and salary workers

Chemical plant and system operators
— National
U.S.:	$46,900
— by State
AL:	$47,810
AZ:	$33,930
AR:	$43,880
CA:	$46,260
CO:	$39,820
CT:	$45,380
FL:	$42,340
GA:	$46,440
IL:	$45,040
IN:	$38,780
IA:	$43,310
KS:	$44,350
KY:	$47,930
LA:	$53,370
ME:	$44,930
MD:	$44,630
MA:	$43,980
MI:	$45,550
MN:	$41,990
MS:	$41,370
MO:	$38,900
NE:	$38,130
NH:	$36,800
NJ:	$50,450
NY:	$44,760
NC:	$39,150
OH:	$44,550
OK:	$40,560
OR:	$48,810
PA:	$42,310
RI:	$41,010
SC:	$40,560
TN:	$41,450
TX:	$53,210
VA:	$46,110
WA:	$53,120
WV:	$52,460
WI:	$40,190
PR:	$28,420
— by NAICS Industry Sector
21	$40,810
22	$53,690
31-33	$46,930
42	$41,780
48-49	$53,450
92	$42,090
Also see State and Metropolitan Area and industry estimates of employment and percentile earnings for chemical plant and system operators.

Width of bars indicates mean annual wages; color of bars indicates employment.

source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about this section

Also see Chemical plant and system operators in the 2004-05 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook
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See the Occupational Outlook Handbook in print.