Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas
Also called: Pulling Unit Operator, Rig Operator, Service Operator, Service Rig OperatorOperate 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.
On a phone, press and hold a picture to save it to Photos.
opens your phone's share sheet, where you can save both to Photos
What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 19 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 1.1% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 7.0% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other extraction workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.7 hires for every 10 job openings in mining and logging, which employs about 91% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.8.7 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $49,490 | $45,540 to $63,030 | 170 |
| Alaska | $106,480 | $75,670 to $132,630 | 1,090 |
| Arkansas | $48,120 | $35,660 to $57,320 | 220 |
| California | $62,580 | $49,780 to $78,170 | 2,820 |
| Colorado | $60,290 | $49,710 to $81,100 | 2,930 |
| Florida | $62,050 | $50,240 to $67,780 | 200 |
| Illinois | $41,680 | $39,700 to $56,980 | 220 |
| Indiana | $56,980 | $48,870 to $58,690 | not published |
| Kansas | $46,230 | $42,930 to $50,650 | 370 |
| Kentucky | $28,280 | $25,810 to $77,320 | 210 |
| Louisiana | $60,760 | $44,480 to $76,160 | 3,130 |
| Michigan | $52,000 | $47,690 to $60,300 | 230 |
| Mississippi | $49,610 | $39,000 to $82,570 | 250 |
| Missouri | $90,580 | $89,550 to $91,890 | 80 |
| Montana | $77,750 | $58,130 to $96,380 | 310 |
| Nebraska | $62,990 | $57,600 to $63,180 | 30 |
| New Mexico | $64,990 | $57,650 to $83,050 | 2,600 |
| New York | $45,750 | $36,880 to $58,430 | 100 |
| North Dakota | $60,810 | $49,290 to $77,840 | 3,000 |
| Ohio | $61,260 | $48,590 to $97,280 | 930 |
| Oklahoma | $56,680 | $43,730 to $77,550 | 2,980 |
| Pennsylvania | $54,780 | $46,480 to $62,100 | 1,520 |
| South Dakota | $49,920 | $47,480 to $54,630 | 40 |
| Texas | $49,820 | $46,840 to $61,210 | 16,820 |
| Utah | $56,290 | $47,900 to $66,550 | 1,060 |
| West Virginia | $56,250 | $47,150 to $78,210 | 580 |
| Wyoming | $62,560 | $55,330 to $81,340 | 820 |
Nationally: $58,160. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 19 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs. | Not published |
| AI + software | Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil. | Not published |
See all 19 tasks
| Not much | Close and seal wells no longer in use. | Not published |
| Not much | Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction. | Not published |
| Not much | Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive truck-mounted units to well sites. | Not published |
| Not much | Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around lodged obstacles. | Not published |
| Not much | Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions. | Not published |
| Not much | Insert detection instruments into wells with obstructions. | Not published |
| AI + software | Monitor sound wave-generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 19 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 19 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #17 Implement procedures or processes
- #38 Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment | |||
| Operate construction or excavation equipment | |||
| Implement procedures or processes | |||
| Select materials or equipment for operations or projects | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment |
Show all 15 activities
| Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities | |||
| Assess characteristics of land or property | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Prepare industrial materials for processing or use | |||
| Install plumbing or piping equipment or systems | |||
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Direct construction or extraction activities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report73%
- Data or a spreadsheet12%
- An email or message6%
- An analysis or summary1%
- An app or website1%
How they worked with Claude
100% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for service unit operators, oil and gas specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,757 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 11%
- 2 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 8%
- 3 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 6%
- 4 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 5 Coaches and Scouts Moderate +6.1% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,088 moves in
- 1 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 3 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 6%
- 4 Recreation Workers Moderate +4.3% 5%
- 5 Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas Low +0.8% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 100% not published
O*NET marks 100% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 16 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 19% less than high school
- 50% high school
- 19% some college
- 5% associate's
- 6% bachelor's
- 1% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other extraction workers” · 526 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other extraction workers”
1 program: Mining Technology/Technician.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-5013.00