Oil refinery jobs range from operators who run the units around the clock to the engineers, technicians and craft workers who keep them safe and running. The best-known refinery job, refinery operator, had a national median wage of $96,710 in May 2025, and $103,160 inside the petroleum industry itself, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Below are the main refinery jobs, what each does and the BLS pay benchmark for the closest occupation. To see where the refineries are, use our US oil refineries map.
Key takeaways
- About 108,700 people worked in US petroleum and coal products manufacturing in August 2026 (BLS).
- Refinery operators are the largest group in the industry, with 18,720 jobs and a median of $103,160 there.
- Chemical engineers earned a median of $125,040 nationally in May 2025 (BLS).
- Most refinery jobs are on the Gulf Coast, in Texas and Louisiana, around Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi and Lake Charles.
- Turnarounds bring thousands of extra contract workers into a refinery for weeks at a time.
The main oil refinery jobs and pay
| Job | What they do | BLS median pay (May 2025, all industries) |
|---|---|---|
| Refinery operator (petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators and gaugers) | Run process units from the control room and the field | $96,710 |
| Chemical plant and system operator | Run chemical and petrochemical units | $78,120 |
| Process / chemical engineer | Optimize units, troubleshoot, support safety reviews | $125,040 |
| Mechanical / reliability engineer | Keep pumps, compressors, exchangers and piping running | $104,110 |
| Electrical engineer | Power distribution, motors, substations | $120,630 |
| Health and safety engineer | Process safety and occupational safety programs | $115,160 |
| Instrument / analyzer technician | Maintain instruments, analyzers and control valves | $74,090 |
| Millwright / machinist | Repair and align rotating equipment | $65,700 |
| Electrician | Plant electrical maintenance | $63,190 |
| Pipefitter | Piping repairs and turnaround work | $63,800 |
| Boilermaker | Vessels, heaters and towers, mostly during turnarounds | $76,410 |
| Lab chemist | Test crude and products against specifications | $91,240 |
| Lab / chemical technician | Run routine product tests | $60,390 |
| Petroleum engineer | Mostly upstream (drilling and production), rarely in refineries | $144,910 |
Refinery operator jobs
Operators are the core of every refinery. They monitor and control units from the control room, make rounds in the field, take samples, and start up and shut down equipment. Most work 12-hour rotating shifts. Many refiners hire operators with a process technology associate degree or relevant military or plant experience, then train them on their own units.
Inside the petroleum industry, BLS counts 18,720 refinery operators with a median wage of $103,160 (BLS), well above the all-industry figure in the table.
Refinery engineering jobs
Engineers make up a smaller share of the workforce but drive safety, reliability and profit:
- Process engineers monitor unit performance, troubleshoot, model changes in simulators such as Aspen HYSYS, and take part in hazard analyses and management of change. See how to hire process engineers.
- Reliability and mechanical engineers look after rotating equipment, exchangers, heaters and piping.
- Inspection engineers manage corrosion and integrity programs for vessels and piping.
- Electrical and controls engineers support power systems, the distributed control system and safety systems.
- Project engineers run capital projects and turnaround scopes.
Turnaround and contract work
Every few years each refinery shuts down major units for a planned overhaul. A single turnaround can bring in up to 2,000 workers at peak, as Marathon’s 2026 El Paso turnaround did (El Paso Inc.). Contractors hire pipefitters, boilermakers, welders, millwrights, insulators, scaffold builders and inspectors for these jobs, mostly in spring and fall.
Where the refinery jobs are
Texas has 29 refineries and Louisiana 14, so most refinery jobs are on the Gulf Coast. The biggest hubs are Houston and Galveston Bay, Beaumont and Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, Lake Charles and the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Large Midwest refineries include Whiting, Indiana, and Wood River and Joliet in Illinois.
How to get a refinery job
- Operators: a process technology associate degree, military experience or chemical plant experience helps. Apply directly on refiners’ careers sites.
- Engineers: a chemical, mechanical or electrical engineering degree. Internships and co-ops at refiners are the most common entry route.
- Crafts: an apprenticeship and certifications (welding, rigging, OSHA) for turnaround and maintenance work.
Hiring refinery engineers? Apollo Technical recruits process, chemical, mechanical, electrical and controls engineers for refineries and petrochemical plants. See our Houston engineering recruiters, chemical engineering recruiters and mechanical engineering recruiters.
