Derrick hand vs roustabout

The differences between derrick hands and roustabouts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a derrick hand has an average salary of $38,109, which is higher than the $31,841 average annual salary of a roustabout.

The top three skills for a derrick hand include flow lines, tongs and fall protection. The most important skills for a roustabout are CDL, backhoe, and flow lines.

Derrick hand vs roustabout overview

	Derrick Hand	Roustabout
Yearly salary	$38,109	$31,841
Hourly rate	$18.32	$15.31
Growth rate	1%	-
Number of jobs	5,225	2,055
Job satisfaction	4	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 62%	High School Diploma, 54%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	4	-

Derrick hand vs roustabout salary

Derrick hands and roustabouts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Derrick Hand	Roustabout
Average salary	$38,109	$31,841
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $25,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	-	Bakersfield, CA
Highest paying state	-	Nevada
Best paying company	-	Nabors Industries
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between derrick hand and roustabout education

There are a few differences between a derrick hand and a roustabout in terms of educational background:

	Derrick Hand	Roustabout
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 62%	High School Diploma, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Derrick hand vs roustabout demographics

Here are the differences between derrick hands' and roustabouts' demographics:

	Derrick Hand	Roustabout
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 97.7% Female, 2.3%	Male, 95.8% Female, 4.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between derrick hand and roustabout duties and responsibilities

Derrick hand example responsibilities.

Provide leadership and guidance to direct reports, and manage their efforts to maximize their contribution to operational effectiveness and performance.
strip on bop, go into the derrick, come out of hole with tubing.
Complete first aid and H2S awareness.
Watch H2S levels when on gas locations.
Operate and service the bridge cranes and relate hoisting equipment.
Drill wells, track BHA's tallies, rig equipment and personnel.

Roustabout example responsibilities.

Swab oil and gas wells.
Clamp holding fixtures on ends of hoisting cables.
Swab back fluids, fish for part rods and tubing.
Experience in operatingdozer, excavator, bobcat and all-terrain crane.
Operate and fuel equipment machinery (bobcat and forklift).
Check that all bop valves are line up and are functioning properly.

Derrick hand vs roustabout skills

Common derrick hand skills

Flow Lines, 15%
Tongs, 9%
Fall Protection, 9%
Drilling Fluid, 7%
Derricks, 5%
Drill Pipe, 5%

Common roustabout skills

CDL, 10%
Backhoe, 9%
Flow Lines, 7%
Oilfield Equipment, 6%
Welders, 5%
Manual Labor, 5%