Plant control operator vs refinery technician

The differences between plant control operators and refinery technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a refinery technician has an average salary of $51,694, which is higher than the $49,393 average annual salary of a plant control operator.

The top three skills for a plant control operator include control room, plant operations and financial analysis. The most important skills for a refinery technician are minor maintenance, safety regulations, and LOTO.

Plant control operator vs refinery technician overview

	Plant Control Operator	Refinery Technician
Yearly salary	$49,393	$51,694
Hourly rate	$23.75	$24.85
Growth rate	-15%	-15%
Number of jobs	64,591	7,715
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Associate Degree, 38%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Plant control operator vs refinery technician salary

Plant control operators and refinery technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plant Control Operator	Refinery Technician
Average salary	$49,393	$51,694
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $66,000	Between $39,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between plant control operator and refinery technician education

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

	Plant Control Operator	Refinery Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Associate Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Industrial Technology
Most common college	-	-

Plant control operator vs refinery technician demographics

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

	Plant Control Operator	Refinery Technician
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 86.0% Female, 14.0%	Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3%
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, 6.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 1.5% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between plant control operator and refinery technician 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.

Refinery technician example responsibilities.

Manage, develop, and execute department clearances (LO/TO).
Maintain numerous automate scripts to assist in managing Linux systems.
Experience with Maximo and other computer systems.
Monitor and adjust units from the DCS and SCADA.
Perform distillation, absorption, extraction, adsorption, thermal and reforming.
Operate Plc computers and high pressure boilers, as well as forklift panel.

Plant control operator vs refinery technician skills

Common plant control operator skills

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

Common refinery technician skills

Minor Maintenance, 46%
Safety Regulations, 19%
LOTO, 8%
Cooling Towers, 6%
Plant Equipment, 6%
Hazardous Chemicals, 4%

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Plant Control Operator
Plant Control Operator vs Refinery Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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