Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. Includes fishing-tool technicians.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Operation and Control
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Troubleshooting
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
What the work involves
- Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.
- Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.
- Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
- Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.
- Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.
- Close and seal wells no longer in use.
- Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
- Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (63% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (17.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (43.4%)
- 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 Service Unit 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 | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 87% of occupations compared | 84% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 65% of occupations compared | 23% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 78% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 53% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 84% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 77% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 56% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 93% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- 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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 1.68%
- Contact with others most of the time: 14.05%
- Constant contact with others: 84.27%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 19.81%
- Fairly important: 17.31%
- Important: 23.25%
- Very important: 19.53%
- Extremely important: 20.1%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.19%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1.19%
- Very important: 34.43%
- Extremely important: 63.2%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 4.14%
- Some freedom: 75.62%
- A lot of freedom: 20.24%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Time pressure
- Never: 3.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 1.19%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.08%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 30.72%
- Every day: 56.27%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Conflict situations
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.12%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.1%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.76%
- Every day: 0%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 17.65%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 22.62%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.3%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.92%
- Every day: 13.51%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.71%
- Fairly serious: 3.74%
- Serious: 5.32%
- Very serious: 22.06%
- Extremely serious: 61.17%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
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O*NET-SOC 47-5013.00 · SOC 47-5013 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8