Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Career, Salary and Skills
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $60,190 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 19,450. Wage data is published for 130 locations.
Occupation description
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
O*NET code
47-5023.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$60,190
Hourly median
$28.94
Employment
19,450
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Operation and Control | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Monitoring | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Coordination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.00 | 2.75 |
| Speaking | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Equipment Selection | 3.00 | 2.50 |
Typical tasks
- Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
- Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled.
- Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed.
- Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
- Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
- Verify depths and alignments of boring positions.
- Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
- Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
Technology
- Global positioning system GPS software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Word
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in TXMedian $58,700 · Employment 1,930
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in CAMedian $66,910 · Employment 1,630
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in FLMedian $55,320 · Employment 1,630
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in NVMedian $61,030 · Employment 1,350
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in GAMedian $50,030 · Employment 870
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in AZMedian $58,870 · Employment 850
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in MIMedian $62,570 · Employment 850
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in PAMedian $57,400 · Employment 730
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in NYMedian $60,860 · Employment 670
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in Phoenix, AZMedian $58,750 · Employment 650
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in New York, NYMedian $74,120 · Employment 530
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas Salary in ORMedian $64,920 · Employment 510
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.