Roustabouts, Oil and Gas

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Clean up spilled oil by bailing it into barrels.
• Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
• Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
• Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
• Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.
• Cut down and remove trees and brush to clear drill sites, to reduce fire hazards, and to make way for roads to sites.
• Lay gas and oil pipelines.
• Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.
• Guide cranes to move loads about decks.
• Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
• Dig holes, set forms, and mix and pour concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.
• Supply equipment to rig floors as requested and provide assistance to roughnecks.
• Lay gas and oil pipelines.
• Supply equipment to rig floors as requested and provide assistance to roughnecks.
• Dig drainage ditches around wells and storage tanks.
• Move pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand.
• Clean trucks used in the fields.
• Bolt together pump and engine parts.

Skills

• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

Abilities

• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.

Knowledge

• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

U.S. Annual Salary

47510/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

22.84/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

48,600

Yearly Projected Openings

4900

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Dependability
• Integrity
• Leadership
• Self Control
• Attention to Detail
• Stress Tolerance

Tools

• Adjustable wrenches
• Centrifugal pumps
• Cleaning scrapers
• Demolition hammers
• Downhole fishing poles
• Ear plugs
• Fall protection lanyard
• Filtering machinery
• Fire extinguishers
• Forklifts
• Grease guns
• Hammers
• Hand sprayers
• Hard hats
• Hoists
• Impact wrenches
• Insulated or flotation suits
• Laboratory balances
• Laboratory funnels
• Lifelines or lifeline equipment
• Lifting hooks
• Lifts
• Mud agitators
• Multi gas monitors
• Oilfield production spoolers
• Oxygen gas analyzers
• Personal computers
• Pneumatic sanding machines
• Portable data input terminals
• Post hole digger
• Power grinders
• Pressure or steam cleaners
• Protective gloves
• Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
• Rheometers
• Safety glasses
• Safety harnesses or belts
• Safety hooks
• Scaffolding
• Shackle
• Slings
• Tongs
• Viscosimeters
• Winches
• pH meters

Technology

• Data base management system software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Procurement software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Switch or router software
• Word processing software