Occupations · Transportation and Material Moving
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
Tend, control, or operate power-driven, stationary, or portable pumps and manifold systems to transfer gases, oil, other liquids, slurries, or powdered materials to and from various vessels and processes.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 53-7072.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 60% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $58,600 | 1,540 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $60,350 | 560 |
| Midland, TX | $49,460 | 460 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $80,560 | 290 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $61,770 | 260 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA | $41,720 | 240 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $53,440 | 220 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $59,390 | 140 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $61,670 | 130 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $57,300 | 120 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $80,100 | 110 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $77,390 | 110 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Monitor gauges and flowmeters and inspect equipment to ensure that tank levels, temperatures, chemical amounts, and pressures are at specified levels, reporting abnormalities as necessary.
- Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, stocks used, gauging results, and operating times.
- Plan movement of products through lines to processing, storage, and shipping units, using knowledge of interconnections and capacities of pipelines, valve manifolds, pumps, and tankage.
- Turn valves and start pumps to start or regulate flows of substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials.
- Communicate with other workers, using signals, radios, or telephones, to start and stop flows of materials or substances.
- Connect hoses and pipelines to pumps and vessels prior to material transfer, using hand tools.
- Tend vessels that store substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials, checking levels of substances by using calibrated rods or by reading mercury gauges and tank charts.
- Clean, lubricate, and repair pumps and vessels, using hand tools and equipment.
- Read operating schedules or instructions or receive verbal orders to determine amounts to be pumped.
- Tend auxiliary equipment such as water treatment and refrigeration units, and heat exchangers.
- Add chemicals and solutions to tanks to ensure that specifications are met.
- Collect and deliver sample solutions for laboratory analysis.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2021-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2021-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 6
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| pipeline pump operator | 8113.4 | exact |
| gauger | 8131.8 | close |
| gas station operator | 3133.1.5 | close |
| dewatering technician | 8111.1 | close |
| petroleum pump system operator | 3134.4 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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