Careers / Wellhead Pumpers

Wellhead Pumpers — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$69,960

United States, 2025

Employment

17,990

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.

O*NET code
53-7073.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Typical tasks

  • Monitor pumps and flow lines for gas and fluid leaks.
  • Gauge oil and gas production.
  • Start compressor engines and divert oil from storage tanks into compressor units and auxiliary equipment to recover natural gas from oil.
  • 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.
  • Repair gas and oil meters and gauges.
  • Perform routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment.
  • Open valves to return compressed gas to bottoms of specified wells to repressurize them and force oil to surface.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$44,100
10th
$52,330
25th
$69,960
Median
$82,200
75th
$98,170
90th

10th percentile

$44,100

25th percentile

$52,330

75th percentile

$82,200

90th percentile

$98,170

Most important skills

  • Operations Monitoring4.0
  • Operation and Control3.9
  • Repairing3.1
  • Equipment Maintenance3.1
  • Critical Thinking3.1
  • Troubleshooting3.1
  • Monitoring3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.1
  • Speaking3.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.0
  • Active Listening2.9
  • Time Management2.8

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 10 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

10

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Operations Monitoring4.03.9Not selected3.9
Operation and Control3.93.9Not selected3.9
Repairing3.13.8Not selected3.8
Equipment Maintenance3.13.3Not selected3.3
Monitoring3.13.3Not selected3.3
Critical Thinking3.13.0Not selected3.0
Troubleshooting3.13.0Not selected3.0
Speaking3.03.0Not selected3.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.12.9Not selected2.9
Complex Problem Solving3.02.9Not selected2.9

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
ND$79,8201,5402025
Houston, TX$79,7203,8602025
NM$78,0101,0602025
Dallas, TX$78,0108302025
Minot, ND$77,3101302025
Amarillo, TX$77,150602025
LA$76,9301102025
Lubbock, TX$76,8502002025
TX$75,86010,2502025
Odessa, TX$75,4503302025
CO$72,7003702025
Midland, TX$72,1101,6602025
Casper, WY$71,540602025
Tyler, TX$70,590902025
Oklahoma City, OK$64,9602302025
Longview, TX$64,9201502025
AR$64,650902025
Tulsa, OK$64,5002202025
CA$64,4301602025
Canton, OH$64,010502025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Wellhead Pumpers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.