Chemical processing plant controller
Also called chemical operator, process plant operator, chemical plant process operator
Chemical processing plant controllers control the chemical production process. They operate machines and systems, being responsible to monitor and maintain the equipment and the instruments in control.
What you'd do
Chemical processing plant controllers · ILO- Operating electronic or computerized control panel from a central control room to monitor and optimize physical and chemical processes for several processing units
- Adjusting equipment, valves, pumps, controls and process equipment
- Controlling the preparation, measuring and feeding of raw materials and processing agents such as catalysts and filtering media into plant
- Controlling process start-up and shut-down, troubleshooting and monitoring outside process equipment
- Verifying equipment for malfunctions, carrying out routine operating tests and arranging for maintenance
- Analysing sample products, performing tests, recording data and writing production logs
- Indoors and outdoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Lots of contact with people, mostly with colleagues
- Some freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines every day
- Very repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Average prospectsA typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
About averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,600 a month (Bulgaria) to €6,500 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among technicians and associate professionals in the EU, women earn 16% less per hour than men. Technicians and associate professionals · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Usually post-secondary or a short degreePost-secondary training or a short degree in chemical engineering and processes is the usual route.
949 institutions in the EU offer engineering bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.29 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 6 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for chemical processing plant controllers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).