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Drill holes in earth or materials

Work activity · O*NET

Drill holes in earth or materials is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Handling and Moving Objects. 38 occupations report doing it as part of their work.

What it involves

The most common detailed activities O*NET records under this category, ranked by how many occupation tasks map to each.

  • Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials
  • Drill holes in construction materials
  • Drill holes in earth or rock

How AI is applied to this activity

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study mapped real Bing Copilot conversations to O*NET work activities. The figures below are their measurements for this activity — they describe how AI is used today in one assistant's data, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

AI completes it successfully 92.3% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 0.0% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
Positive user feedback 75.0% Share of interactions users rated positively
How often AI is applied here 18th pct Percentile across all measured activities by how often AI performs them

Source: Microsoft "Working with AI" (working-with-ai). A high completion rate means AI can assist the activity in isolation — it does not mean an occupation that performs it is being automated, since every job blends many activities.

Detailed work activities

The more granular units of work O*NET groups under this activity, ordered by how many occupations perform them.

Occupations that perform this activity

Ranked by how many of the occupation's tasks map to this activity.

Occupation Tasks
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Mechanical Door Repairers 2
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 1
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters 1
Carpenters 1
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 1
Commercial Divers 1
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 1
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers 1
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment 1
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers 1
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles 1
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers 1
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters 1
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 1
Helpers--Carpenters 1
Helpers--Electricians 1
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 1
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers 1
Locksmiths and Safe Repairers 1
Medical Appliance Technicians 1
Millwrights 1
Model Makers, Metal and Plastic 1
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic 1
Pipelayers 1
Print Binding and Finishing Workers 1
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 1
Rock Splitters, Quarry 1
Roof Bolters, Mining 1
Roofers 1
Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers 1
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners 1
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers 1
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing 1
Stonemasons 1
Tapers 1
Terrazzo Workers and Finishers 1
Tool and Die Makers 1
Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay AI task-overlap (horizontal) versus median pay (vertical), each as a percentile across all scored occupations, for 36 occupations in occupations that perform Drill holes in earth or materials.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators Helpers--Carpenters Roofers Roof Bolters, Mining Tapers Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters Pipelayers Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers Commercial Divers Medical Appliance Technicians Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians Tool and Die Makers Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Drill holes in earth or materials., by AI task-overlap and median pay

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Drill holes in earth or materials." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activities/drill-holes-in-earth-or-materials

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Drill holes in earth or materials. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/drill-holes-in-earth-or-materials

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-drill-holes-in-earth-or-materials,
  title  = {Drill holes in earth or materials},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activities/drill-holes-in-earth-or-materials}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.