Floorhand / roustabout / roughneck
Floorhands are entry-level oil rig drillers. Using a variety of tools and protective equipment, these workers keep the area on and around the drill rig clean and clear of obstructions, handling everything from rust removal and repainting equipment to clearing the deck of hazards and performing basic maintenance on complex machinery.
Floorhand is considered an unskilled or semi-skilled drill rig job, and it’s open to high school graduates who can perform a lot of heavy physical labor. Floorhands generally move up the chain after a few years of experience.
Depending on the location and the type of drilling going on at the site, beginning floorhands earn between $28,000 and $40,000 a year. Work shifts tend to fluctuate according to the needs of the operation at the site where the work is being done.
Motorman / motor hand
This is the next level up the chain from roughneck. After a few years spent learning basic rig maintenance and operations, oil rig drillers can be promoted to motorman or motor hand. The job of a motorman is to service and maintain the vital equipment on the rig, especially the driller engine. Most motormen work hands-on with the machinery, though they may also order replacement parts and handle some inventory. As senior skilled workers, they may also be asked to help train new roughnecks.
Motor hands are expected to respond quickly to maintenance calls and handle emergency repairs. They must maintain thehighest standards of safety before putting a piece of equipment back into operation. Motormen frequently have first aid and specialized safety certifications. This position is generally not open to direct hires from outside the company, unless you have sufficient experience in a related drill rig job somewhere else.
A skilled motorman can expect to earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year. Overtime is common, as is travel to and from remote sites. Many companies compensate their motor hands for travel time, and some have company-owned or paid-for lodgings in the areas where they drill.
Derrickman
The job of a derrickman is to manage the drilling string that gets dropped from the derrick into the bore hole. Derrickmen usually work from the monkey board, which is the industry term for a platform on top of the derrick that can be as high off the ground as 300 feet. Candidates for this drill rig job should not be afraid of heights.
Other common duties of the derrickman involve assisting drillers with mixing the drilling compounds, help motormen with maintenance and lend a hand in training roughnecks. Derrickmen are expected to have good problem-solving abilities and an eye for subtle details that can affect how the line drops on their watch. Physical agility and communication skills with the team on the ground are a must.
A skilled derrickman can expect to earn between $18 and $24 an hour, or $36,000 to $48,000 a year. Overtime pay adds a lot to the salary, since many derrickmen work long hours at new exploration sites. Like the motor hand, derrickmen often get reimbursed for travel and lodging expenses when they travel for work.
Oil rig driller
Drillers are the direct supervisors who manage the team of roughnecks, motor hands and derrickmen on the job site. These are the frontline field managers for a single team, and their main job is to keep things running smoothly at a single location. In doing this, drillers support their own supervisor, the oil rig manager.
Drillers are usually have experience from other drill rig jobs. Extensive first aid and safety training is required. A good driller has leadership skills, listening skills and a firm understanding of nearly all of the equipment being used at the job site. In addition to supervisory duties, it is expected that the driller will lend a hand with the physical labor whenever it’s needed.
For supervising a drill site, oil drillers can expect to earn $54,000 a year. This is an average, which varies by state, company and the remoteness of the drill site. Driller pay can also increase with extra training, especially in courses required or recommended by federal safety regulators.
Oil rig manager
Rig managers are usually former drillers, but they’ve been promoted to manage several sites from a camp or HQ location, rather than being on the ground at just a single site. Oil rig managers take reports from drillers, answer inquiries, manage personnel issues and report to middle management on diverse topics such as safety, payroll and activity logs.
Rig Manager pay varies, depending on the company they work for and the credentials they have. As a rule, oil rig managers, who may also be called foremen or just supervisors, earn between $78,000 and $180,000. The median pay for this position is $137,000, and the candidates you hire for it are likely to have a bachelor’s degree.
Well tester
A well tester has a specialist job in the oil field, and this worker really shouldn’t be thought of as part of the traditional roughneck-motorman-driller career chain. That said, many well testers are experienced derrickmen or motor hands who have earned a professional certificate and advanced to the role within their company. No formal schooling is required for this job, but there is a six-month course almost all testers pass before they can be considered for the position.
Well testers act as on-the-spot experts at the drill site, and they offer their expertise to the driller and rig manager to ensure a successful well is sunk. They oversee setup, drill out and flowback procedures, and make sure that safety precautions are in place throughout the exploration phase. Well testers provide quality control and report on safe operations at multiple sites, and they may also monitor tank pressure and temperature, inspect valves and other equipment, and advise less-experienced workers in safe operations.
Well tester jobs pay an average of $102,000 a year. Because there is no specified education requirement, some companies hire their testers from the ranks of drill rig job workers they feel are experienced, while others require a more formal education. The exact salary a tester gets usually matches the requirements the specific company has for the position.
Chemical engineer / petroleum engineer / geologist
Geologists and chemical/petroleum engineers are all different jobs, but they are in the same category of expert worker and can be described together. Geologists use their knowledge of oil-bearing rocks to help plan successful drilling operations. Chemical engineers research and design new processes and equipment for managing drilling operations. Petroleum engineers conduct research, though their role is more focused on development of new oil and gas management techniques.
All three of these positions require at least a bachelor’s degree in the relevant fields, and many people who hold these jobs go on to earn master’s degrees and even doctorates. Much of the work they do takes place in office and camp settings, though they may visit drill sites as their job requires.
Chemical engineers working at drill rig jobs can expect to be paid $104,000 a year. Geologists in the industry average $110,000, while petroleum engineers can earn $111,000 plus bonuses.
Completion driller
Completion drillers are current or former engineers who have moved into a highly specialized line of work for the oil company. Once a strike has been made, the completion driller effectively takes over a lead operation role and manages the build out of infrastructure for the site. Many oil rigs operate in remote locations, from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico, and getting there can require building a small city. Completion drillers see to this operation, and they earn upward of $150,000 a year.
Drilling consultant
Drilling consultants are some of the highest paid professionals in the drilling industry. They usually have advanced engineering degrees and many years of experience in various drill rigger jobs. These professionals are experts at everything, and they can lend their considerable expertise to upper management, middle ranks, such as oil rig managers and foremen, and even to the roughnecks who need it. Consultants earn an average of $230,000 a year, plus travel and bonus pay.
