Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

Overview

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas has a national median salary of $58,160 per year, with +1.1% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. Includes fishing-tool technicians.

Work Values

• Support
• Relationships
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• 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.

Work Activities

• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Training and Teaching Others
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Performing General Physical Activities

Detailed Work Activities

• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a bachelor's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Bachelor's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for no formal educational credential.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas:

Video Resources