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Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Earth Drillers Helpers--Extraction Workers Roustabouts, Oil & Gas Service Unit Operators, Oil & Gas Wellhead Pumpers

Industries: Mining, Oil, & Gas

Summary
Details

Maintain and adjust machinery to ensure proper performance.
Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools.
Line drilled holes with pipes, and install all necessary hardware, to prepare new wells.
Remove core samples during drilling to determine the nature of the strata being drilled.
Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required.
Bolt together pump and engine parts, and connect tanks and flow lines.
Position and prepare truck-mounted derricks at drilling areas specified on field maps.
Clean and oil pulleys, blocks, and cables.
Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective.
Clean and oil pulleys, blocks, and cables.
Repair or replace defective parts of machinery, such as rotary drill rigs, water trucks, air compressors, and pumps, using hand tools.
Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud.
Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well.
Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs.
Locate and recover lost or broken bits, casings, and drill pipes from wells, using special tools.
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.
Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells.
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.
Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes.
Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud.
Plug observation wells, and restore sites.
Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well.
Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools.
Cap wells with packers, or turn valves, to regulate outflow of oil from wells.
Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools.

Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

U.S. Annual Salary

65010/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

31.26/hr

Currently Employed

13,400

Yearly Projected Openings

1200

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Leadership
Cooperation
Initiative
Stress Tolerance

Air compressors
Blocks or pulleys
Blowout preventer controls
Blowout preventers
Carbon steel pipe spectacle blind flange
Casing head spool
Cement pumping units
Choke manifolds
Claw hammer
Crown blocks
Derricks
Detonators
Diesel engines
Downhole fishing poles
Drawworks
Drill collars
Drill pipe
Drill rig rotary tables
Drill swivels
Drilling casings
Electric rotary converters
Flowmeters
Gasoline engines
Hard hats
Hoists
Impact wrenches
Industrial drill bits
Makeup tongs
Mud mixers
Mud pumps
Oilfield cementing tools
Packers or tubing anchors
Personal computers
Pipe handling equipment
Pressure indicators
Rotary drills
Safety glasses
Safety harnesses or belts
Safety vests
Specialty wrenches
Taglines
Torque wrenches
Tubing head adapter
Two way radios
Wellhead production chokes
Wellhead tees or crosses

Analytical or scientific software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Statewide occupation search

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Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

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