Wellhead Pumpers
Also called: Field Operator, Lease Operator, Pumper, Well TenderOperate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 14 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 2.0% 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, 8.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.7 hires for every 10 job openings in mining and logging, which employs about 99% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | $64,650 | $30,830 to $74,950 | 90 |
| California | $64,430 | $56,500 to $72,310 | 160 |
| Colorado | $72,700 | $61,510 to $80,170 | 370 |
| Illinois | $51,440 | $49,810 to $59,770 | 240 |
| Kansas | $62,400 | $47,110 to $76,070 | 620 |
| Louisiana | $76,930 | $63,860 to $78,340 | 110 |
| Michigan | $47,630 | $43,450 to $65,950 | 210 |
| Mississippi | $62,560 | $52,600 to $76,110 | 80 |
| Montana | $57,830 | $48,720 to $78,010 | 90 |
| New Mexico | $78,010 | $58,900 to $98,290 | 1,060 |
| New York | $48,980 | $45,560 to $63,900 | 50 |
| North Dakota | $79,820 | $66,600 to $97,480 | 1,540 |
| Ohio | $46,750 | $37,380 to $63,680 | 250 |
| Oklahoma | $61,380 | $51,760 to $72,620 | 770 |
| Pennsylvania | $45,490 | $38,340 to $47,790 | 640 |
| Texas | $75,860 | $59,490 to $84,070 | 10,250 |
| Utah | $59,970 | $50,430 to $75,530 | 130 |
| West Virginia | $52,170 | $43,620 to $53,660 | 660 |
| Wyoming | $57,200 | $56,160 to $79,380 | 490 |
Nationally: $69,960. 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 none of its 14 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Gauge oil and gas production. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor pumps and flow lines for gas and fluid leaks. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate engines and pumps to shut off wells according to production schedules, and to switch flow of oil into storage tanks. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor control panels during pumping operations to ensure that materials are being pumped at the correct pressure, density, rate, and concentration. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform routine maintenance on vehicles and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Start compressor engines and divert oil from storage tanks into compressor units and auxiliary equipment to recover natural gas from oil. | Not published |
See all 14 tasks
| Not much | Repair gas and oil meters and gauges. | Not published |
| Not much | Change water filters. | Not published |
| Not much | Open valves to return compressed gas to bottoms of specified wells to repressurize them and force oil to surface. | Not published |
| Not much | Attach pumps and hoses to wellheads. | Not published |
| Not much | Supervise oil pumpers and other workers engaged in producing oil from wells. | Not published |
| Not much | Unload and assemble pipes and pumping equipment, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare trucks and equipment necessary for the type of pumping service required. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix acids, chemicals, or dry cement as required for a specific job. | 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. 0 of the 14 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 14 tasks fall under 12 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment |
Show all 12 activities
| Repair workpieces or products | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Maintain vehicles in working condition | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment |
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 wellhead pumpers 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 in from
of 415 moves in
- 1 Machinists Moderate +1.0% 16%
- 2 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 15%
- 3 Cashiers High -6.5% 8%
- 4 Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service Moderate -7.2% 7%
- 5 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
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
- 1% less than high school
- 80% high school
- 11% postsecondary certificate
- 7% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 22 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 14% less than high school
- 54% high school
- 21% some college
- 5% associate's
- 5% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators” · 292 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 “Conveyor, dredge, and hoist and winch operators”
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
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