Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Rig derrick equipment and operate pumps to circulate mud or fluid through drill hole.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Repairing
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Transportation
- Administration and Management
- Building and Construction
What the work involves
- Inspect derricks, or order their inspection, prior to being raised or lowered.
- Inspect derricks for flaws, and clean and oil derricks to maintain proper working conditions.
- Control the viscosity and weight of the drilling fluid.
- Repair pumps, mud tanks, and related equipment.
- Listen to mud pumps and check regularly for vibration and other problems to ensure that rig pumps and drilling mud systems are working properly.
- Start pumps that circulate mud through drill pipes and boreholes to cool drill bits and flush out drill cuttings.
- Position and align derrick elements, using harnesses and platform climbing devices.
- Supervise crew members, and provide assistance in training them.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (68.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (39.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (48.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 56% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 78% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 50% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 68% of occupations compared | 25% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 50% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 87% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: 1.95%
- Contact with others about half the time: 30.71%
- Contact with others most of the time: 1.95%
- Constant contact with others: 65.38%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 34.62%
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: 40.83%
- Very important: 15.35%
- Extremely important: 9.2%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: 1.95%
- Very important: 21.57%
- Extremely important: 61.12%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.95%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 20.62%
- Some freedom: 54.23%
- A lot of freedom: 23.19%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 15.35%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 17.31%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 30.42%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 15.35%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.24%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.26%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 25.47%
- Every day: 18.67%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 21.57%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.89%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 48.02%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.58%
- Every day: 1.95%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 1.95%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very serious: 6.21%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 47-5011.00 · SOC 47-5011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8