Plant control operator vs process plant operator

The differences between plant control operators and process plant operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a plant control operator has an average salary of $49,393, which is higher than the $41,902 average annual salary of a process plant operator.

The top three skills for a plant control operator include control room, plant operations and financial analysis. The most important skills for a process plant operator are plant operations, plant process, and minor maintenance.

Plant control operator vs process plant operator overview

	Plant Control Operator	Process Plant Operator
Yearly salary	$49,393	$41,902
Hourly rate	$23.75	$20.15
Growth rate	-15%	-7%
Number of jobs	64,591	61,085
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	46	47
Years of experience	-	2

Plant control operator vs process plant operator salary

Plant control operators and process plant operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plant Control Operator	Process Plant Operator
Average salary	$49,393	$41,902
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $66,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between plant control operator and process plant operator education

There are a few differences between a plant control operator and a process plant operator in terms of educational background:

	Plant Control Operator	Process Plant Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Plant control operator vs process plant operator demographics

Here are the differences between plant control operators' and process plant operators' demographics:

	Plant Control Operator	Process Plant Operator
Average age	46	47
Gender ratio	Male, 86.0% Female, 14.0%	Male, 81.7% Female, 18.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 1.5% White, 77.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 4.3% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	5%	11%

Differences between plant control operator and process plant operator duties and responsibilities

Plant control operator example responsibilities.

Coordinate and manage annual physical inventory as well as inventory valuation in accordance with Canadian GAAP.
Implement Sarbanes-Oxley compliance with no significant gaps.
Administer compliance of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements at plant level.
Lead operations finance team to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting and costing consistent with internal policy and SOX requirements.
Lead operations finance team to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting and costing consistent with internal policy and SOX requirements.

Process plant operator example responsibilities.

Manage distillation process to determine product specification compliance, and prepare unit for shutdown or turnaround process.
Move to the assembly department building electrical panels, installing electrical panels, installing various electrical devices on new centrifuges.
Batch SCC, Shotcrete and other loads to client specifications.

Plant control operator vs process plant operator skills

Common plant control operator skills

Control Room, 19%
Plant Operations, 14%
Financial Analysis, 9%
Financial Performance, 7%
ERP, 6%
Gas Plant, 5%

Common process plant operator skills

Plant Operations, 30%
Plant Process, 10%
Minor Maintenance, 9%
Plant Equipment, 7%
OSHA, 7%
Continuous Operation, 6%

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Production and Manufacturing Industry
Plant Control Operator
Plant Control Operator vs Process Plant Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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