Floor hand vs derrickman

The differences between floor hands and derrickmen can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a derrickman has an average salary of $48,858, which is higher than the $36,554 average annual salary of a floor hand.

The top three skills for a floor hand include tongs, fall protection and safety equipment. The most important skills for a derrickman are drilling fluid, fluid properties, and direct supervision.

Floor hand vs derrickman overview

	Floor Hand	Derrickman
Yearly salary	$36,554	$48,858
Hourly rate	$17.57	$23.49
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	21,924	733
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 57%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Floor hand vs derrickman salary

Floor hands and derrickmen have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Floor Hand	Derrickman
Average salary	$36,554	$48,858
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $36,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between floor hand and derrickman education

There are a few differences between a floor hand and a derrickman in terms of educational background:

	Floor Hand	Derrickman
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 57%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Floor hand vs derrickman demographics

Here are the differences between floor hands' and derrickmen' demographics:

	Floor Hand	Derrickman
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9%	Male, 98.1% Female, 1.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 1.2% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 1.2% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between floor hand and derrickman duties and responsibilities

Floor hand example responsibilities.

Provide leadership and guidance to direct reports, and manage their efforts to maximize their contribution to operational effectiveness and performance.
Perform daily inspection of rig hoisting systems, slips, tongs, and iron roughneck on the rig floor.
Certify in CPR and a's.
Pull back pipe and run pipe in the hole on the monkey board.
Fill out JSA and other paper work.
Set tank batteries and build containment dikes.

Derrickman example responsibilities.

Fill out the Iadc logs daily, lead the crew during safety meetings and orientations.
Provide leadership and guidance to direct reports, and manage their efforts to maximize their contribution to operational effectiveness and performance.
Conduct derrick maintenance of sheave nest, cables, structure, ropes, pulleys and safety equipment.
Maintain shakers and agitators on pit system.
Maintain centrifugal, agitators, and shakers.
Prepare BHA as per plan for hole sections.

Floor hand vs derrickman skills

Common floor hand skills

Tongs, 20%
Fall Protection, 7%
Safety Equipment, 6%
Safety Rules, 6%
Preventative Maintenance, 4%
Mud Pumps, 4%

Common derrickman skills

Drilling Fluid, 12%
Fluid Properties, 9%
Direct Supervision, 8%
Well Control, 5%
Tongs, 5%
Drill Pipe, 4%

Floor Hand vs. similar jobs

Floor Hand related careers

Floor Hand related jobs

What similar roles do

Roustabout responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse construction and extraction jobs