Explore by Career/Transportation and Material Moving
Wellhead Pumpers
Operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.
- Median pay
- $70,010
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -4.7%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Judgment and Decision Making
What they do
- Monitor pumps and flow lines for gas and fluid leaks.
- Gauge oil and gas production.
- Start compressor engines and divert oil from storage tanks into compressor units and auxiliary equipment to recover natural gas from oil.
- Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration.
- Operate engines and pumps to shut off wells according to production schedules, and to switch flow of oil into storage tanks.
- Repair gas and oil meters and gauges.
- Perform routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment.
- Open valves to return compressed gas to bottoms of specified wells to repressurize them and force oil to surface.
- Change water filters.
- Prepare trucks and equipment necessary for the type of pumping service required.
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.