Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
Machines can already do 32% of this job's tasks. By 2035 that rises to 72%. The job changes before it disappears.
Share of the work machines can do
Worldwide baseline, 2026 to 2050
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers in 2026: the short answer
- Today: machines can do 32% of this job's tasks, and AI use is already seen in 0% of them.
- Forecast: machines can do half of its tasks by 2031, and 72% by 2035, according to the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit.
- Size: 9,780 people do this job in the United States, on a median pay of $61,770 a year.
- Contact with people: it scores 68% for contact with people.
- Also called: Boom Pump Operator, Chemical Pumper, Day Light Relief Operator, Outside Operator.
Updated by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit. These are worldwide baseline figures; the Workforce Starburst shows them for your country. Go deeper: How ready am I? or an executive briefing.
How the work changes, task by task
The tasks that take up most of the day, with the share of each that machines can do in 2026 (dark) and 2035 (pink). Worldwide baseline.
| Task | Share of the day | Machines can do | 2026 to 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 25% | 30% to 75% | |
| Turn valves and start pumps to start or regulate flows of substances such as gases, liquids, slurries, or powdered materials | 14% | 30% to 75% | |
| Record operating data such as products and quantities pumped, stocks used, gauging results, and operating times | 9% | 70% to 95% | |
| 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 | 7% | 40% to 75% | |
| Communicate with other workers, using signals, radios, or telephones, to start and stop flows of materials or substances | 7% | 30% to 60% | |
| Connect hoses and pipelines to pumps and vessels prior to material transfer, using hand tools | 7% | 20% to 60% | |
| 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 | 7% | 30% to 75% | |
| Clean, lubricate, and repair pumps and vessels, using hand tools and equipment | 7% | 20% to 60% |
The skills this job runs on
The skills pump operators, except wellhead pumpers use most, most used first.
Safer jobs nearby
Jobs with a similar skill shape where machines can do less of the work by 2035.
- Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic62% of tasks by 2035 · US median $49,030
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing60% of tasks by 2035 · US median $43,380
- Printing Press Operators65% of tasks by 2035 · US median $45,780
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers59% of tasks by 2035 · US median $53,710
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Questions
When will machines do half of the tasks of Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers?
Machines can do half of its tasks by 2031. That is the worldwide baseline from the 311 Workforce Starburst, before adjusting for country.
Will AI take the job of pump operators, except wellhead pumpers?
Machines can do 32% of the tasks of pump operators, except wellhead pumpers today and 72% by 2035. The job changes before it disappears: the routine tasks move first.
Sources and citing
Tasks and their share of the day: O*NET 31.0, occupation 53-7072.00 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Pay and jobs: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. AI use today: Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Scoring and forecast: the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit; after 2035 the figures extend each trend, with lower confidence. Foresight, not advice.
Cite as: 311 Institute (2026). Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers: the outlook to 2050. 311 Workforce Starburst. https://www.311institute.com/jobs/pump-operators-except-wellhead-pumpers/