Adjust bit speed and pressure
Watch the pressure gauges and change how fast the bit turns and how hard it pushes down.
Career profile
Oil and Gas Rotary Drill Operator
Rotary drill operators work the controls and direct the rig crew while drilling a well.
A shifting pressure gauge can mean the control settings need a change, and you have to notice it while watching your crew.
A day in the life
Hoist pipe to change bits
You run the hoist while crew members pull pipe for a bit swap, then lower it back in.
Direct the rig crew
Tell the roustabouts and derrick operators what to do next, then check their work as drilling continues.
Log the well's progress
Write down the depth drilled, the rock layers you hit, the tools used and how long it took.
Quick facts
Learn through rig work
United States · 2025–2035
$67,890 a year
United States · May 2025
Little employment change
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn through rig workNo formal educational credential is the typical entry category. Employers may still require a high school diploma and related experience.
Pay
$67,890 a yearNational median for rotary drill operators, oil and gas; equivalent to $32.64 an hour.
Outlook
Little employment changeEmployment is projected to grow 0.8% from 2025 to 2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You can stay attentive while watching equipment repeat a process.
- You like figuring out how machinery behaves.
- You are comfortable giving clear instructions and checking that people understand.
Things to weigh
- Noise and outdoor weather are regular parts of rig work.
- Remote and offshore jobs can mean weeks away from home.
- Your decisions affect other workers’ safety.
Where AI may help
On rigs equipped for it, software can run programmed drilling sequences, including steps around pipe connections.
What people still lead
You still need to understand the rig’s controls, communicate with the crew, and lead people through the work.
What we can’t predict yet
How much of a shift becomes overseeing automated sequences will depend on the rig’s equipment and which operations can be automated reliably.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median was $67,890 a year, or $32.64 an hour, in May 2025. That is the midpoint for employed rotary drill operators, not a starting offer.
The national spread
The 10th-percentile annual wage was $47,010 and the 90th-percentile wage was $101,860. These mark the lower and upper ends of the middle 80% of wages, not beginner and experienced pay grades.
Openings despite little growth
About 1,100 openings a year are projected on average during 2025–2035, alongside 0.8% employment growth. Openings include replacement needs, so they are not all newly created jobs.
Getting started
Start as a roustabout
- What the route involves
- Learn from experienced workers while cleaning equipment, organizing tools, and helping move supplies.
- What it can lead to
- Build related experience toward drilling-crew roles and eventually driller work.
Build on existing rig experience
- What the route involves
- Bring experience from another rig role into employer training in drilling controls, technical skills, and crew leadership.
- What it can lead to
- Prepare to move into a driller role or learn an unfamiliar control system.
- What to check
- This is employer-based development; completing training does not guarantee promotion.
Rig experience usually comes before the driller’s controls. Your starting point depends on whether you have worked on a crew before.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn your rig’s controls and operating procedures, including how its equipment differs from rigs you already know.
Develop your crew skills
Build your technical judgment alongside the communication skills needed to explain each operation to the crew.
Work toward rig management
A possible next step is rig manager, with broader responsibility for the rig and its crew. Employer development may include leadership and technical training.
Where you can work
Land drilling rigs
You work at outdoor well sites. Rigs periodically move, and remote locations can add travel to the job.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Travel
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Offshore rigs
Work is organized around a rig at sea, with supplies loaded aboard. Some crews work long shifts for weeks before a block of time off.
- Outdoors
- Field work
- Travel
- Shift work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Open the [Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s drilling guide](https://www.osha.gov/etools/oil-and-gas/drilling) and follow the section on removing and replacing drill pipe. Sketch the pipe’s movement and mark where the driller’s controls and crew coordination matter. Notice whether keeping track of that sequence interests you.
Stay safe: Keep this a desk exercise; it does not prepare you to operate a rig.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas — 47-5012.00. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Oil and Gas Workers. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: May 2025 national estimates, SOC 47-5012. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections Table 1.2: 2025–2035, SOC 47-5012. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Nabors Industries. SmartDRILL process automation. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Precision Drilling. Target Zero and Field Training. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Oil and Gas Well Drilling and Servicing eTool: Drilling. Accessed 2026-10-09.