Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$60,190

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$49,900 – $72,450

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

19,450

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+3.6%

At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,400

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.

Main tasks

• Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
• Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
• Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled.
• Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed.
• Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
• Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
• Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
• Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years

Training once hired: long-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

  $67,890 median · +0.8% projected

• Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

  $49,080 median · -9.5% projected

• Continuous Mining Machine Operators

  $61,810 median · +3.2% projected

• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining

  $57,430 median · +1% projected

• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators

  $59,850 median · +4.6% projected

• Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

  $61,390 median · 0% projected