FlightWay / Careers / Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Skilled Trades
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Operate or control petroleum refining or processing units.
- Sector: Skilled Trades
- Preparation: Zone 2 — some preparation needed
- O*NET code: 51-8093.00
What you'll actually do
The activities O*NET rates highest for this occupation, most important first. Numbers are out of 100.
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Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
a major part of the work — rated 81/100 for importance.
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Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
a major part of the work — rated 79/100 for importance.
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Controlling Machines and Processes
a major part of the work — rated 78/100 for importance.
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Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
a major part of the work — rated 77/100 for importance.
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Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
a major part of the work — rated 75/100 for importance.
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Performing General Physical Activities
a major part of the work — rated 73/100 for importance.
Operate or control petroleum refining or processing units. May specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.
What it takes
Two numbers per line: the level the work expects, and how important it is to doing the job well. Both are O*NET ratings, already on a 0–100 scale.
Skills
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Operations Monitoring
Needed at a high level (66/100), and rated 75/100 for importance.
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Operation and Control
Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
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Monitoring
Needed at a solid working level (50/100), and rated 66/100 for importance.
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Reading Comprehension
Needed at a solid working level (48/100), and rated 63/100 for importance.
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Complex Problem Solving
Needed at a basic working level (43/100), and rated 53/100 for importance.
Knowledge
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Production and Processing
Needed at a solid working level (49/100), and rated 65/100 for importance.
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Public Safety and Security
Needed at a solid working level (55/100), and rated 65/100 for importance.
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Mechanical
Needed at a high level (61/100), and rated 64/100 for importance.
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Administration and Management
Needed at a solid working level (58/100), and rated 63/100 for importance.
Abilities
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Perceptual Speed
Needed at a solid working level (57/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
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Flexibility of Closure
Needed at a solid working level (54/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
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Information Ordering
Needed at a solid working level (54/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
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Near Vision
Needed at a solid working level (50/100), and rated 69/100 for importance.
How people get in
O*NET places this occupation in Zone 2 — some preparation needed. That is a statement about what employers typically require, not a rule about you.
Education
A high-school diploma is the usual starting point.
Experience
Some prior work experience helps but is rarely required.
Training
Expect a few months to a year of on-the-job training.
How the work tends to run
Each line below is read off a single O*NET activity rating for this occupation — named, so you can disagree with it.
- The work is physical — you are on your feet and handling things, not sitting still.From “Performing General Physical Activities”
- You run equipment, and running it well is a skill in itself.From “Controlling Machines and Processes”
How FlightWay scores your fit against this
No black box. Here is the whole method, factor by factor.
- 1. You answer a short quiz
- Your answers build a profile across the same 161 O*NET dimensions this page is describing — skills, knowledge, abilities and work activities. Same axes, so the comparison is like-for-like.
- 2. We correlate the two profiles
- Fit is a mean-centered cosine — a correlation between the SHAPE of your profile and the shape of Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers. Centering matters: raw similarity between any two occupations sits at 0.70–0.85 because all work shares a common profile, so without it every career would look like a match.
- 3. The number you see is personality fit only
- "Would I want this work" and "am I ready for this work" are different questions, and averaging them answers neither. So readiness — what your résumé, coursework and projects prove — is scored separately and shown next to fit, never blended into it.
- 4. Every factor is visible
- You can open any match and see which dimensions pushed it up and which pulled it down. If you disagree with the number, you can see exactly where it came from.
More in Skilled Trades
See your fit for Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers
Ten questions, about 90 seconds. You get your match against Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers and 782+ other real careers — with the reasoning shown.
Take the quiz Open in FlightWayOccupational data on this page comes from the O*NET 30.3 Database, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). O*NET is a registered trademark of USDOL/ETA. FlightWay is not endorsed by, and USDOL/ETA is not responsible for, anything built on that data — see our terms. What is ours is the comparison, the score and the plan.