Construction and extraction
Roustabouts, oil and gas
Assemble or repair oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Perform other tasks as needed.
Median pay
$46,960
Growth to 2035
+4%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
4,100
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Roustabouts, oil and gas
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
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
Roustabouts, oil and gas: 45% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
Also called: Field Service Roustabout · Floor Hand · Oil and Gas Roustabout · Oil Field Roustabout · Production Roustabout · Rig Hand · Roustabout · Roustabout Crew Pusher
Outlook and AI
Roustabouts, oil and gas held 45,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 47,100 by 2035 (+4%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
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