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The differences between floor hands and rig hands can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a floor hand has an average salary of $36,554, which is higher than the $33,851 average annual salary of a rig hand.
The top three skills for a floor hand include tongs, fall protection and safety equipment. The most important skills for a rig hand are tongs, CDL, and H2S.
| Floor Hand | Rig Hand | |
| Yearly salary | $36,554 | $33,851 |
| Hourly rate | $17.57 | $16.27 |
| Growth rate | - | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 21,924 | 4,329 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 60% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A floor hand is an employee who performs a variety of manual labor tasks in a rig site. Floor hand employees take charge of handling pipes, drilling, and casing equipment. Their responsibilities include rig component equipment repairs and maintenance, assigned activities on the rig floor, and rig up and down movements. They are considered as foundational employees working on the derrick floor. Often, they handle the tough physical jobs on the site.
A rig hand is a term used to refer to various jobs in oil drilling. The rig hand is in charge of maintaining the drilling rig and other equipment on the rig. The job changes depending on the hierarchy in the rig hand, but their main work is the maintenance of the drilling tools. Their duties and responsibilities also include reporting any safety hazards and accidents to the rig supervisor.
Floor hands and rig hands have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Floor Hand | Rig Hand | |
| Average salary | $36,554 | $33,851 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a floor hand and a rig hand in terms of educational background:
| Floor Hand | Rig Hand | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | General Studies |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between floor hands' and rig hands' demographics:
| Floor Hand | Rig Hand | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9% | Male, 96.7% Female, 3.3% |
| 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, 7.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 1.2% White, 65.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |