Construction and Extraction · Holland code RCI

Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

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.

Also called: Blast Hole Driller, Drill Operator, Driller, Well Driller, Diamond Driller, Hard Rock Drill Operator, Highwall Drill Operator, Rock Drill Operator.

O*NET 47-5023.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $60,190; Middle half earn $49,900 to $72,450. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 73% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Fabricate well casings.
Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
Pour water into wells, or pump water or slush into wells to cool drill bits and to remove drillings.
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.
Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Speaking3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.8 / 5
Active Learning2.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mechanical3.5 / 5
Administration and Management3.3 / 5
Transportation3.3 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.3 / 5
Design3.1 / 5
Mathematics3.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic100
Investigative44
Artistic2
Social4
Enterprising12
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

drilling engineer · DE Bohringenieur/Bohringenieurin · FR ingénieur de forage/ingénieure de forage
drilling machine operator · DE CNC-Bohrer/CNC-Bohrerin · FR opérateur sur perceuse/opératrice sur perceuse
stone driller · DE Steinbohrer/Steinbohrerin · FR débiteur de pierre/débitrice de pierre
derrickhand · DE Bühnenmann/Bühnenfrau · FR accrocheur/accrocheuse
oil rig motorhand · DE Maschinenführer auf Ölbohrinseln/Maschinenführerin auf Ölbohrinseln · FR motoriste en installation de forage
roustabout · DE Deckarbeiter/Deckarbeiterin · FR homme de surface/femme de surface

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Metal machining setters and setter-operators (5221)40,400 employed
Metal working machine operatives (8120)28,100 employed
Plant and machine operatives n.e.c. (8139)22,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Plant and machine operators and assemblers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€39,630
Netherlands	€37,567
Austria	€37,304
Sweden	€36,005
Germany	€34,433
Ireland	€32,617
France	€28,550
Italy	€28,330
Spain	€24,409
Portugal	€11,309
Poland	€10,259

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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