Salary and Outlook
According to the US Department of Labor, there are 37,300 people employed as roustabouts, oil and gas in
the United States.
The median annual salary is $38,920.
Entry level employees earn approximately $29,460 per year and senior employees earn approximately $60,830
per year.
Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.
Job Duties
- Keep pipe deck and main deck areas clean and tidy.
- Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
- Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
- Move pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand.
- Bolt together pump and engine parts.
- Guide cranes to move loads about decks.
- Supply equipment to rig floors as requested and provide assistance to roughnecks.
- Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
- Clean up spilled oil by bailing it into barrels.
- Dig drainage ditches around wells and storage tanks.
- Bolt or nail together wood or steel framework to erect derricks.
- Cut down and remove trees and brush to clear drill sites, to reduce fire hazards, and to make way for roads to sites.
- Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.