Rotary Drill Operators, oil and gas

Definition

Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove petroleum products from the earth and to find and remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.

source: OOH; about this section

Significant Points

2004 employment: 15,000
Projected 2004-14 employment change: More slowly than average
Most significant source of postsecondary education or training: Moderate-term on-the-job training

source: OOH; about this section

Quick Stats

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas

2004 employment: 15,000
2014 projected employment: 15,000
employment numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand; percent changes are calculated with unrounded numbers
Change — numeric: 0; percent: 0.1%
2004 median annual earnings: $35,590; earnings group: high
2004 self-employed: 2.8%
2004 part-time employment: very low
2004 unemployment: high
Typical education and training: Moderate-term on-the-job training
Educational attainment — high school: 77.0%; some college: 22.9%; bachelor's degree: 0.1%

Mining machine operators, all other

2004 employment: 3,000
2014 projected employment: 3,000
employment numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand; percent changes are calculated with unrounded numbers
Change — numeric: 0; percent: 0.9%
2004 median annual earnings: $34,220; earnings group: high
2004 self-employed: 0.7%
2004 part-time employment: very low
2004 unemployment: high
Typical education and training: Moderate-term on-the-job training
Educational attainment — high school: 73.8%; some college: 21.7%; bachelor's degree: 4.5%

source: Employment Matrix; about this section

Earnings Graph

National Average and Percentile Annual Earnings, May 2005

Metropolitan area and State estimates.

source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about this section

Area and Industry Statistics

May 2005 Mean Annual Earnings and Employment, wage and salary workers

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas
— National
U.S.:	$39,880
— by State
AK:	$58,710
AR:	$31,740
CA:	$49,270
CO:	$39,570
IL:	$29,560
IN:	$39,920
KS:	$31,200
KY:	$30,130
LA:	$43,660
MA:	$40,960
MI:	$36,230
MS:	$31,560
MT:	$40,930
NM:	$37,900
ND:	$44,210
OH:	$31,310
OK:	$37,800
PA:	$30,890
TN:	$30,550
TX:	$40,310
UT:	$44,930
VA:	$38,390
WA:	$45,680
WV:	$41,430
WY:	$40,050
— by NAICS Industry Sector
21	$40,230
22	$42,780
23	$33,150
31-33	$33,870
53	$41,540
54	$29,650
Also see State and Metropolitan Area and industry estimates of employment and percentile earnings for rotary drill operators, oil and gas.

Mining machine operators, all other
— National
U.S.:	$37,970
— by State
AL:	$40,560
AR:	$42,400
CA:	$44,030
GA:	$36,140
ID:	$39,650
IL:	$32,120
NV:	$46,000
OH:	$25,420
PA:	$35,950
TN:	$26,740
VA:	$27,000
WY:	$35,440
— by NAICS Industry Sector
21	$37,650
23	$43,210
31-33	$34,370
Also see State and Metropolitan Area and industry estimates of employment and percentile earnings for mining machine operators, all other.

Width of bars indicates mean annual wages; color of bars indicates employment.

source: Occupational Employment Statistics Program; about this section

Fatalities

2004 Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and event or exposure

Occupation	Fatalities: Event or exposure
Occupation	Total	Tran.	Viol.	Cont.	Falls	Expo.	Fires
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas	8	3	-	-	-	-	-

source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities Program; about this section

Also see Rotary drill operators, oil and gas in the 2004-05 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook
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