How To Become A Drill Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a drill operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Mostly working at gas and oil companies, a Drill Operator operates drilling equipment and machinery. The specific responsibilities depend on the employer, but mostly, a Drill Operator manages staff, measures and marks drilling spots, performs regular checks, conducts assessments, and many more.

As a Drill Operator, you will need to have good communication skills, especially because you're dealing with different people most of the time. Next is coordination. You need to be fluid and flexible to be efficient as a Drill Operator. Lastly, your visual ability should be superb. You need to be able to easily picture out scenarios or ideas in order to do a job well done.

As a Drill Operator, you can earn around $27,081 per year on average, with a job growth rate of 4%. You can also further your career and become a Foreman, a Supervisor, an Operations Manager, and a Plant Manager after some time.

ScoreDrill OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,948

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.25%

Asian 1.21%

Black or African American 9.10%

Hispanic or Latino 19.43%

Unknown 4.21%

White 63.80%

Gender

female 6.87%

male 93.13%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.5

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a drill operator

Explore drill operator education requirements

Most common drill operator degrees

High School Diploma

50.6 %

Bachelor's

16.9 %

Associate

14.1 %

Start to develop specific drill operator skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	35.21%
Safety Procedures	10.91%
Directional Drill	8.14%
Construction Equipment	6.94%
OSHA	6.51%

Complete relevant drill operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New drill operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a drill operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real drill operator resumes.

Research drill operator duties and responsibilities

Operate heavy equipment such as dozer, track hoe and pipe fusing machine.
Observe all NYSDOT, NYSDEC, OSHA regulations
Operate a Vermeer directional bore drill for underground cable.
Work in shop and run hot shots as needed.

Prepare your drill operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your drill operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a drill operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable drill operator resume templates

Build a professional drill operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your drill operator resume.