Occupations · 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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 47-5023.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 24% between 2021 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $78,340 | 550 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $63,010 | 510 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $56,700 | 300 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $53,390 | 290 |
| Boise City, ID | $50,900 | 280 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $60,570 | 280 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $60,840 | 270 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $56,810 | 260 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $80,030 | 260 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $60,640 | 250 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $60,890 | 250 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $58,820 | 230 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Fabricate well casings.
- 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.
- Pour water into wells, or pump water or slush into wells to cool drill bits and to remove drillings.
- 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.
- Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns.
- Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
- Place and install screens, casings, pumps, and other well fixtures to develop wells.
- Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
- Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2017-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2020
Comparing O*NET release 25.1 (2020-11-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| derrickhand | 8113.1 | close |
| roustabout | 8113.6 | close |
| drilling machine operator | 7223.5 | close |
| stone driller | 8112.3 | close |
| tunnel boring machine operator | 8113.8 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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