Best degree programs for Gas Plant Operators, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 22 schools train Gas Plant Operators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $87,820 median wage, 18,030 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 22 schools train gas plant operators, graduating 254 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Petroleum Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $87,820 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About gas plant operators
Distribute or process gas for utility companies and others by controlling compressors to maintain specified pressures on main pipelines.
A plant operator is an employee who supervises the operation of an industrial plant. The term is usually applied to workers employed in utilities, wastewater treatment plants, power plants or chemical plants such as gas extraction facilities, petrochemical or oil refineries.
Read more on Wikipedia →Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0903 | 254 | 100.0% | 22 | $59,357 | $18,848 |
Top 22 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What gas plant operators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisianamoderate | $108,350 | 800 | 3.54× | 4 | 87 |
| Texasmoderate | $79,910 | 2,550 | 1.57× | 4 | 40 |
| Utahlimited | $98,300 | 160 | 0.81× | 1 | 39 |
| West Virginialimited | $82,600 | 420 | 5.22× | 2 | 22 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $80,810 | 1,370 | 1.95× | 1 | 18 |
| Oklahomalimited | $78,310 | 970 | 4.90× | 2 | 14 |
| Illinoislimited | $97,810 | 530 | 0.74× | 1 | 7 |
| Mississippilimited | $81,600 | 340 | 2.50× | 1 | 7 |
| Ohiolimited | $82,130 | 570 | 0.88× | 1 | 5 |
| Kansaslimited | $80,760 | 350 | 2.09× | 1 | 4 |
| North Dakotalimited | $96,760 | 770 | 15.56× | 1 | 4 |
| Alaskalimited | — | 220 | 5.81× | 1 | 3 |
| Coloradolimited | $98,080 | 570 | 1.70× | 1 | 3 |
| New Mexicolimited | $97,660 | 300 | 3.01× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Monitor equipment functioning, observe temperature, level, and flow gauges, and perform regular unit checks to ensure that all equipment is operating as it should.
- Distribute or process gas for utility companies or industrial plants, using panel boards, control boards, and semi-automatic equipment.
- Control operation of compressors, scrubbers, evaporators, and refrigeration equipment to liquefy, compress, or regasify natural gas.
- Control equipment to regulate flow and pressure of gas to feedlines of boilers, furnaces, and related steam-generating or heating equipment.
- Record, review, and compile operations records, test results, and gauge readings such as temperatures, pressures, concentrations, and flows.
- Determine causes of abnormal pressure variances, and make corrective recommendations, such as installation of pipes to relieve overloading.
- Adjust temperature, pressure, vacuum, level, flow rate, or transfer of gas to maintain processes at required levels or to correct problems.
- Collaborate with other operators to solve unit problems.
Skills
- Monitoring3.6
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Writing3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Active Learning2.9
- Mathematics2.9
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security3.9
- Mechanical3.8
- English Language3.6
- Computers and Electronics3.4
- Mathematics3.2
- Engineering and Technology3.1
Abilities
- Perceptual Speed3.9
- Near Vision3.8
- Problem Sensitivity3.6
- Auditory Attention3.5
- Selective Attention3.4
- Flexibility of Closure3.3
Core activities
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.3
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.3
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Getting Information4.3
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.1
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Gas Plant Operator
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Gas Plant Operators1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0903Petroleum Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Gas Plant Operator?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Petroleum Technology/Technician, which awarded 254 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Gas Plant Operator?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 254 people a year.
How much do gas plant operators earn?+
The median is $87,820 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $61,350 at the 10th percentile to $115,520 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for gas plant operators growing?+
BLS projects a -8.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
22 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do gas plant operators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Gas Controller, Gas Dispatcher, Plant Operator, Gas Plant Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-8092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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