What Does it Take to Be a Gas Plant Operator?
Career Description Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
Life As a Gas Plant Operator: What Do They Do?
- Operate construction equipment to install and maintain gas distribution systems.
- Control fractioning columns, compressors, purifying towers, heat exchangers, and related equipment to extract nitrogen and oxygen from air.
- Calculate gas ratios to detect deviations from specifications, using testing apparatus.
- Clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using hand tools, or request that repair and maintenance work be performed.
- Test gas, chemicals, and air during processing to assess factors such as purity and moisture content, and to detect quality problems or gas or chemical leaks.
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
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Gas Plant Operator Required Skills
Gas Plant Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Types of Gas Plant Operator Jobs
- Regasification Plant Operator
- Liquefied Natural Gas Specialist (LNG Specialist)
- Fuel Attendant
- Gas Dispatcher
- Dispatcher
Is There Going to be Demand for Gas Plant Operators?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 17,300 jobs in the United States for Gas Plant Operator. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Gas Plant Operator. There will be an estimated 1,700 positions for Gas Plant Operator per year.

The states with the most job growth for Gas Plant Operator are Washington, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Watch out if you plan on working in Delaware, Wisconsin, or Kentucky. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Gas Plant Operator
The average yearly salary of a Gas Plant Operator ranges between $45,830 and $100,410.

Gas Plant Operators who work in California, Massachusetts, or North Dakota, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Gas Plant Operators in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $70,950 |
Alaska | $63,430 |
Arizona | $62,000 |
Arkansas | $66,620 |
California | $101,610 |
Colorado | $70,260 |
Florida | $50,660 |
Georgia | $59,900 |
Illinois | $74,590 |
Indiana | $68,580 |
Iowa | $54,440 |
Kansas | $67,660 |
Kentucky | $68,240 |
Louisiana | $68,370 |
Maryland | $81,460 |
Massachusetts | $85,470 |
Michigan | $76,690 |
Minnesota | $72,810 |
Mississippi | $60,460 |
Missouri | $73,370 |
Montana | $70,400 |
Nebraska | $61,120 |
New Hampshire | $69,370 |
New Jersey | $75,150 |
New Mexico | $61,910 |
New York | $77,460 |
North Carolina | $61,280 |
North Dakota | $85,740 |
Ohio | $68,680 |
Oklahoma | $64,560 |
Oregon | $75,560 |
Pennsylvania | $67,210 |
South Carolina | $53,070 |
Tennessee | $56,170 |
Texas | $68,690 |
Utah | $68,550 |
Virginia | $63,950 |
Washington | $82,790 |
West Virginia | $70,730 |
Wyoming | $73,870 |
What Tools do Gas Plant Operators Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Gas Plant Operators:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- SAP
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Work scheduling software
How to Become a Gas Plant Operator
What kind of Gas Plant Operator requirements are there?

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Gas Plant Operators Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Gas Plant Operators work:

You May Also Be Interested In…
Those thinking about becoming a Gas Plant Operator might also be interested in the following careers:
Are you already one of the many Gas Plant Operator in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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