Explore by Career/Construction and Extraction
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. Includes fishing-tool technicians.
- Median pay
- $57,980
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +0.4%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- No formal educational credential
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Troubleshooting
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Complex Problem Solving
What they do
- Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
- Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
- Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.
- Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
- Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
- Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.
- Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.
- Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.
- Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction.
- Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.