Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 47-5071.00United States
Assemble or repair oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Perform other tasks as needed.
- Median annual earnings
- $46,943
- Projected change
- +5.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 45.95K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
99.6% of the workforce
Growing to 48.4K by 2035
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The work
What roustabouts, oil and gas do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
- Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
- Guide cranes to move loads about decks.
- Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
- Lay gas and oil pipelines.
- Bolt together pump and engine parts.
- Move pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand.
- Clean trucks used in the fields.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $36,342
- 25th percentile
- $38,799
- 50th percentile
- $46,943
- 75th percentile
- $58,160
- 90th percentile
- $64,901
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $46,943 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+5.3%average or slower
202545,950 jobs
2035 projected48,398 jobs
2,448 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 99.6%
- Associate degree
- 0.4%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Service Technicians279 postings
- 02Oil Change Technicians227 postings
- 03Petroleum Specialists211 postings
- 04General Service Technicians181 postings
- 05Gas Service Technicians152 postings
- 06Roustabouts130 postings
- 07Floorhands121 postings
- 08Equipment Operators98 postings
- 09Hauling Operations Managers97 postings
- 10Derrickhands81 postings
- 11Propane Service Technicians73 postings
- 12Lease Operators71 postings
- 13Service Technician Apprentices70 postings
- 14Rig Hands60 postings
- 15Wireline Operators60 postings
- 16Operators Assistant Service Operator51 postings
- 17Advanced Specialists49 postings
- 18Floor Technicians47 postings
- 19Frac Equipment Operators46 postings
- 20Operator Assistants44 postings
Top employers
- 01Halliburton273 postings
- 02Key Energy Services190 postings
- 03Owl Services102 postings
- 04Hire Velocity90 postings
- 05Spatco Energy Solutions75 postings
- 06Monro Auto Service and Tire Centers74 postings
- 07Jiffy Lube58 postings
- 08Axis Energy Services53 postings
- 09W.W.Williams49 postings
- 10Akrs Equipment Solutions48 postings
- 11Danos43 postings
- 12Blossman Gas41 postings
- 13Take 5 Oil Change41 postings
- 14Ranger Energy Services37 postings
- 15Keystone Clearwater Solutions34 postings
- 16Reconn Utility Services31 postings
- 17Ensign Energy Services29 postings
- 18Nabors USA28 postings
- 19Nwestco28 postings
- 20Liberty Energy Services27 postings
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