Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas and Roustabouts, Oil and Gas on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas | Roustabouts, Oil and Gas |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $59,600 | $47,510 |
| Employment | 17,410 | 45,330 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | About average (+2.9%) | About average (+2.5%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 1,700 | 4,300 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 9th pct | Low · 1st pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | — | 30th pct · 19% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | — | — |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | — | No |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Operations Monitoring, Control Precision, Operation and Control, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Multilimb Coordination, Reaction Time, Manual Dexterity, Depth Perception, Mechanical, Rate Control, Near Vision, Critical Thinking, Equipment Maintenance, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Visualization, Far Vision, Hearing Sensitivity, Monitoring, Finger Dexterity, Active Listening, Quality Control Analysis, Oral Expression, Flexibility of Closure.
Specific to Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
- Perceptual Speed
- Administration and Management
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
- Inductive Reasoning
- Visual Color Discrimination
- Design
- Speaking
Specific to Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
- Static Strength
- Trunk Strength
- Extent Flexibility
- Stamina
- Customer and Personal Service
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Selective Attention
- Gross Body Equilibrium
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Word processing software .
Specific to Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas or Roustabouts, Oil and Gas — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Helpers--Extraction Workers
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Continuous Mining Machine Operators
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Roustabouts, Oil and Gas." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/earth-drillers-except-oil-and-gas-vs-roustabouts-oil-and-gas
Singulariki. (2026). Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Roustabouts, Oil and Gas. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/earth-drillers-except-oil-and-gas-vs-roustabouts-oil-and-gas
@misc{singulariki-earth-drillers-except-oil-and-gas-vs-roustabouts-oil-and-gas,
title = {Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas vs Roustabouts, Oil and Gas},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/earth-drillers-except-oil-and-gas-vs-roustabouts-oil-and-gas}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.