Career
Service unit operators, oil and gas
Keep oil and gas wells producing.
$58,160
Median pay
+1.1%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,800
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
- Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
- Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.
- Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
- Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Operation and Control, Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $58,160 a year and 3,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Mining Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.0901
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas$67,890 · +0.8%
- Roustabouts, Oil and Gas$46,960 · +3.6%
- Wellhead Pumpers$69,960 · -2.0%
- Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers$96,710 · -1.9%
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas$60,190 · +3.6%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.