Roof Bolters, Mining vs Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Roof Bolters, Mining and Rotary Drill Operators, 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 | Roof Bolters, Mining | Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $76,640 | $65,010 |
| Employment | 2,230 | 13,090 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Declining (-34.2%) | About average (+0.2%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 100 | 1,200 |
| 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 · 10th pct | Low · 13th 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: Control Precision, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Problem Sensitivity, Multilimb Coordination, Reaction Time, Near Vision, Operation and Control, Information Ordering, Education and Training, Selective Attention, Mechanical, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Rate Control, Active Listening, Speech Recognition, Speaking, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Deductive Reasoning.
Specific to Roof Bolters, Mining
- Extent Flexibility
- Depth Perception
- Production and Processing
- Static Strength
- Public Safety and Security
- Response Orientation
- Troubleshooting
- Trunk Strength
Specific to Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
- Mathematics
- Finger Dexterity
- Instructing
- Inductive Reasoning
- Administration and Management
- Written Expression
- Written Comprehension
- Category Flexibility
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: Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Industrial control software .
Specific to Roof Bolters, Mining
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Roof Bolters, Mining or Rotary Drill Operators, 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.
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Continuous Mining Machine Operators
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Structural Iron and Steel Workers
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Riggers
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Hoist and Winch Operators
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Helpers--Extraction Workers
- Roof Bolters, Mining vs Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
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. "Roof Bolters, Mining vs Rotary Drill Operators, 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/roof-bolters-mining-vs-rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas
Singulariki. (2026). Roof Bolters, Mining vs Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/roof-bolters-mining-vs-rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas
@misc{singulariki-roof-bolters-mining-vs-rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas,
title = {Roof Bolters, Mining vs Rotary Drill Operators, 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/roof-bolters-mining-vs-rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.