Construction and extraction
Earth drillers, except oil and gas
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
Median pay
$60,190
Growth to 2035
+4%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
1,400
Time to qualify*
3 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Earth drillers, except oil and gas
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- Less than 5 years
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Earth drillers, except oil and gas: 53% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
- Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
- Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled.
- Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed.
- Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
- Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
- Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
- Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
Also called: Blast Hole Driller · Diamond Driller · Drill Operator · Driller · Hard Rock Drill Operator · Highwall Drill Operator · Rock Drill Operator · Underground Drill Operator
Outlook and AI
Earth drillers, except oil and gas held 19,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 20,200 by 2035 (+4%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Rotary drill operators, oil and gas
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Extraction worker helper
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Continuous mining machine operator
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Roustabouts, oil and gas
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Service unit operators, oil and gas
- Earth drillers, except oil and gas vs. Construction laborer