Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders build operation and control, operations monitoring and time management skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (85%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | 85% | $96,710 | +64% | None |
| 2 | Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining | 81% | $74,500 | +27% | None |
| 3 | Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining | 80% | $57,430 | −2% | None |
| 4 | Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 80% | $58,640 | 0% | None |
| 5 | Locomotive Engineers | 80% | $81,410 | +38% | None |
| 6 | Gas Plant Operators | 80% | $87,820 | +49% | None |
| 7 | Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers | 80% | $60,600 | +3% | None |
| 8 | Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders | 79% | $54,430 | −8% | None |
| 9 | Biofuels Processing Technicians | 79% | $62,470Pay for the broader BLS group “Plant and System Operators, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers | 78% | $68,840 | +17% | None |
Compared with Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders, median $58,870. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as tank car, truck, and ship loaders (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
85% skill match · $96,710 · +64% pay
Operations Analysis · Programming · Systems Evaluation
81% skill match · $74,500 · +27% pay
Operations Analysis · Troubleshooting · Equipment Maintenance
80% skill match · $57,430 · −2% pay
Operations Analysis · Persuasion · Equipment Selection
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (85% skill match, median $96,710), Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining (81% skill match, median $74,500) and Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining (80% skill match, median $57,430), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 13 pay more than tank car, truck, and ship loaders at the median. The biggest increases: Power Plant Operators (+73%, $102,040), Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers (+64%, $96,710) and Gas Plant Operators (+49%, $87,820).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.