Wellhead Pumpers
Operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Administrative
- Chemistry
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration.
- Operate engines and pumps to shut off wells according to production schedules, and to switch flow of oil into storage tanks.
- Perform routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment.
- Repair gas and oil meters and gauges.
- Start compressor engines and divert oil from storage tanks into compressor units and auxiliary equipment to recover natural gas from oil.
- Monitor pumps and flow lines for gas and fluid leaks.
- Gauge oil and gas production.
- Unload and assemble pipes and pumping equipment, using hand tools.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (80.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (29%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (25.3%)
- 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 Wellhead Pumpers 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 68% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 50% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 80% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 81% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 74% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 64% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 78% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: 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: 15.71%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 40.47%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 14.12%
- Fairly important: 0.79%
- Important: 30.05%
- Very important: 37.68%
- Extremely important: 17.35%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.55%
- Fairly important: 13.37%
- Important: 34.4%
- Very important: 4.3%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 10.61%
- Some freedom: 27.44%
- A lot of freedom: 61.95%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 15.59%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.89%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.91%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 41.27%
- Every day: 21.35%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.8%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.1%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.51%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.18%
- Every day: 12.4%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 4.3%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 50.76%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.87%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.07%
- Every day: 0%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.22%
- Fairly serious: 11.17%
- Serious: 43.13%
- Very serious: 4.31%
- Extremely serious: 39.18%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2019
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Biomass Plant Technicians
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Pile Driver Operators
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Closeness 92/100 · job zone +1
- Analyze
Power Plant Operators
Closeness 92/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 53-7073.00 · SOC 53-7073 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8