Floor hand vs roughneck

The differences between floor hands and roughnecks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a roughneck has an average salary of $38,993, 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 roughneck are safety equipment, flow lines, and tongs.

Floor hand vs roughneck overview

	Floor Hand	Roughneck
Yearly salary	$36,554	$38,993
Hourly rate	$17.57	$18.75
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	21,924	134
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Floor hand vs roughneck salary

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

	Floor Hand	Roughneck
Average salary	$36,554	$38,993
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $29,000 And $52,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between floor hand and roughneck education

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

	Floor Hand	Roughneck
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Floor hand vs roughneck demographics

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

	Floor Hand	Roughneck
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9%	Male, 96.8% Female, 3.2%
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, 9.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between floor hand and roughneck 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.

Roughneck example responsibilities.

Fill out the Iadc logs daily, lead the crew during safety meetings and orientations.
Perform general maintenance on rig components, and conduct assigned activities on the rig floor.
Have to wear proper PPE at all times.
Operate forklift, manlift, and overhead hoists.
Assist in specific job tasks involving H2S protocol.
Appropriate use of PPE with various completion fluids.

Floor hand vs roughneck skills

Common floor hand skills

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

Common roughneck skills

Safety Equipment, 18%
Flow Lines, 16%
Tongs, 12%
General Maintenance, 4%
Preventative Maintenance, 4%
Mud Pumps, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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