← All 785 jobsFile 47-5011
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 1.6% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #520 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +1.6% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $58,620 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 10,700 in the US, with about 900 openings a year
The work, 14 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions9%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
AI does this: Train others on operational or work procedures9%
AI performed this in about 1 in 348 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
Still yours: Install commercial or production equipment9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct construction or extraction activities5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate pumping systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Build structures4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 102 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 900 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 44% of the workRoustabouts, Oil and Gas0% AI does, against 9% here+3.6% by 2035 · $46,960 · No formal credential
- Shares 33% of the workCommercial Divers3% AI does, against 9% here+4.8% by 2035 · $72,990 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 31% of the workRail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators0% AI does, against 9% here+1.5% by 2035 · $70,070 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.05, higher than 13% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 47-5011 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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