Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
US occupation · SOC 47-5012
Job titles people report: Daylight Driller, Drill Operator, Driller, Motor Man, Oil Rig Driller, Oil Well Driller, Relief Driller, Rig Operator, Rotary Drill Operator, Rotary Driller
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $67,890
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $53,810 – $81,360
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 12,600
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +0.8%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- No formal educational credential
- 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
Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
Main tasks
- Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective.
- Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes.
- Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required.
- Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells.
- Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs.
- Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes.
- Maintain and adjust machinery to ensure proper performance.
- Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- No formal educational credential
- Work experience in a related job: less than 5 years
- Training once hired: moderate-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.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme 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.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Construction Trades
- Well Drilling/Driller
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
$60,190 median · +3.6% projected
- Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
$58,160 median · +1.1% projected
- Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
$58,620 median · +1.6% 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
- Dredge Operators
$49,640 median · +0.7% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk