Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators
Also called: Compressor Station Operator, Compressor Technician, Filler, Plant OperatorOperate steam-, gas-, electric motor-, or internal combustion-engine driven compressors. Transmit, compress, or recover gases, such as butane, nitrogen, hydrogen, and natural gas.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 2 of its 13 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 8.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 61% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.9.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $43,440 | $40,230 to $60,660 | 60 |
| Alaska | $106,440 | $74,160 to $134,860 | 60 |
| Colorado | $76,200 | $58,570 to $82,910 | not published |
| Indiana | $100,280 | $98,300 to $101,640 | 40 |
| Kansas | $107,730 | $107,080 to $107,730 | 50 |
| Louisiana | $79,970 | $62,470 to $80,930 | 60 |
| Massachusetts | not published | not published | 30 |
| Michigan | $78,240 | $56,900 to $101,890 | 40 |
| Montana | $83,750 | $83,730 to $92,840 | 100 |
| Nebraska | $64,620 | $48,220 to $82,720 | 40 |
| New York | $59,040 | $49,910 to $61,160 | 60 |
| Ohio | $85,930 | $82,310 to $96,220 | 120 |
| Oklahoma | $82,150 | $64,760 to $106,470 | 140 |
| Oregon | $51,150 | $50,780 to $61,600 | not published |
| Pennsylvania | $60,170 | $55,070 to $70,450 | 300 |
| Puerto Rico | $21,840 | $21,840 to $27,250 | 50 |
| South Dakota | $44,440 | $37,110 to $63,530 | not published |
| Tennessee | $45,350 | $43,410 to $56,290 | not published |
| Texas | $82,120 | $67,980 to $91,610 | 1,350 |
| Virginia | $64,990 | $55,180 to $79,680 | 40 |
| Washington | $57,500 | $47,690 to $62,170 | 120 |
| West Virginia | $65,050 | $45,880 to $81,070 | 200 |
Nationally: $77,320. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 2 of its 13 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Monitor meters and pressure gauges to determine consumption rate variations, temperatures, and pressures. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record instrument readings and operational changes in operating logs. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust valves and equipment to obtain specified performance. | Not published |
| Not much | Move controls and turn valves to start compressor engines, pumps, and auxiliary equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate power-driven pumps that transfer liquids, semi-liquids, gases, or powdered materials. | Not published |
| AI + software | Submit daily reports on facility operations. | under 0.01% |
See all 13 tasks
| Not much | Respond to problems by adjusting control room equipment or instructing other personnel to adjust equipment at problem locations or in other control areas. | Not published |
| Not much | Turn knobs or switches to regulate pressures. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean, lubricate, and adjust equipment, and replace filters and gaskets, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Maintain each station by performing general housekeeping duties such as painting, washing, and cleaning. | Not published |
| Not much | Read gas meters, and maintain records of the amounts of gas received and dispensed from holders. | Not published |
| Not much | Take samples of gases and conduct chemical tests to determine gas quality and sulfur or moisture content, or send samples to laboratories for analysis. | Not published |
| Not much | Connect pipelines between pumps and containers that are being filled or emptied. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 13 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 13 tasks fall under 8 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools | |||
| Test characteristics of materials or products | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Collect samples of products or materials |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report42%
- An email or message19%
- An analysis or summary13%
- Data or a spreadsheet6%
- An app or website3%
How they worked with Claude
87% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for gas compressor and gas pumping station operators specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 645 moves in
- 1 Power Plant Operators Moderate -5.1% 9%
- 2 Recreation Workers Moderate +4.3% 9%
- 3 Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping Very high -6.2% 8%
- 4 Packers and Packagers, Hand Low -5.0% 6%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 10% postsecondary certificate
- 11% some college
- 78% not published
O*NET marks 78% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 15 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 54% high school
- 21% some college
- 5% associate's
- 5% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators” · 292 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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