The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.

JOB SCORE

3.1/10

What's this?

Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?

The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.

JOB SCORE

3.1/10

What's this?

Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

64% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Critical thinking

Quite important

Why this matters

Weigh options using logic and evidence, spot weaknesses in arguments, and choose the best approach when there isn’t a single clear answer.

Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important

Why this matters

Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.

Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 51 votes

53% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 64% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Chemical Plant and System Operators will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Highly likely

Moderate

Uncertain

Low

No chance

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Chemical Plant and System Operators was $73,540 ($35 per hour).

The median annual wage for Chemical Plant and System Operators was 48.6% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Chemical Plant and System Operators' job openings is expected to decline 6.1% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 17,840 people employed as 'Chemical Plant and System Operators' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 8 thousand people are employed as 'Chemical Plant and System Operators'.

What people are saying (3)

Stephen

08 Dec 2025 15:54

This is not going to be replaced. As someone who used to work in a refinery, they would never let AI into any refinery operations in the US. Even to this day, they don't even use wireless communications for security purposes. Every signal is wired with a physical wire to and from the control room out to the plant. This is done to prevent from hacking and electronic attacks. If they wanted to fully automate the plant, they could have already done that. They don't want to. They want operators there. It's not just about operational efficiency, it's about security.

Robert

30 Nov 2025 00:06

Chemical plant operators need to manually manipulate many valves and know how to control reactions or emergency situations safely. To have AI do this would be very difficult requiring billions in upgrades to make every component electronically controlled and then likely to fail and cause a major incident release or explosion I would think. For AI to slowly learn and get better at something the consequences of failure cannot be as high as running a dangerous chemical plant.

Jimmy (Uncertain)

14 Sep 2024 20:00

I don't think AI can perform all the tasks in my plant

Chemical Plant and System Operators

Explore safer careers (5)

At a glance