Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code RC
Wellhead Pumpers
Operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.
Also called: Field Operator, Lease Operator, Pumper, Well Tender, Lease Attendant, Oilfield Plant Operator, Well Field Technician, Well Head Pumper.
O*NET 53-7073.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $69,960
- Middle half earn $52,330 to $82,200. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 80% 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.
- 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.
- Open valves to return compressed gas to bottoms of specified wells to repressurize them and force oil to surface.
- Change water filters.
- Repair gas and oil meters and gauges.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Active Listening2.9 / 5
- Reading Comprehension2.8 / 5
- Writing2.6 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical3.7 / 5
- Mathematics3.0 / 5
- Administrative2.9 / 5
- Chemistry2.8 / 5
- Production and Processing2.8 / 5
- English Language2.7 / 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.
- Realistic99
- Investigative21
- Artistic0
- Social2
- Enterprising13
- Conventional55
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)
- petroleum pump system operator · DE Steuerer Ölpumpsysteme/Steuerin Ölpumpsysteme · FR conducteur de systèmes de pompage de pétrole/conductrice de systèmes de pompage de pétrole
- derrickhand · DE Bühnenmann/Bühnenfrau · FR accrocheur/accrocheuse
- oil rig motorhand · DE Maschinenführer auf Ölbohrinseln/Maschinenführerin auf Ölbohrinseln · FR motoriste en installation de forage
- pipeline pump operator · DE Pipelinebediener/Pipelinebedienerin · FR opérateur d’installations de pompage et de pipelines/opératrice d’installations de pompage et de pipelines
- roughneck · DE Bohrarbeiter/Bohrarbeiterin · FR ouvrier de plancher/ouvrière de plancher
- well-digger · DE Brunnenmacher/Brunnenmacherin · FR puisatier/puisatière
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Chemical and related process operatives (8113)34,100 employed
- Process operatives n.e.c. (8119)26,300 employed
- Mining and quarry workers and related operatives (8132)9,200 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.
| 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.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.09. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-7073).
Related careers
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.
Take the career interests test