Floor hand vs roustabout hand

The differences between floor hands and roustabout 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 $31,138 average annual salary of a roustabout hand.

The top three skills for a floor hand include tongs, fall protection and safety equipment. The most important skills for a roustabout hand are oilfield equipment, flow lines, and frac.

Floor hand vs roustabout hand overview

	Floor Hand	Roustabout Hand
Yearly salary	$36,554	$31,138
Hourly rate	$17.57	$14.97
Growth rate	-	1%
Number of jobs	21,924	5,774
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 63%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Floor hand vs roustabout hand salary

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

	Floor Hand	Roustabout Hand
Average salary	$36,554	$31,138
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $45,000	Between $25,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between floor hand and roustabout hand education

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

	Floor Hand	Roustabout Hand
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 57%	High School Diploma, 63%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Floor hand vs roustabout hand demographics

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

	Floor Hand	Roustabout Hand
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 96.1% Female, 3.9%	Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 29.2% Asian, 1.2% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between floor hand and roustabout hand 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.

Roustabout hand example responsibilities.

Work under fresh air for H2S.
Utilize spinning chain and tongs for making and breaking drill pipe connections.
Wear proper PPE, clean well site up to EPA standards, change out lines and equipment whenever necessary
Work with welders and equipment operators in everyday situations to complete natural gas compressor stations.
Drive crew out to location and have a tailgate, JSA meeting before work start.

Floor hand vs roustabout hand skills

Common floor hand skills

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

Common roustabout hand skills

Oilfield Equipment, 12%
Flow Lines, 9%
Frac, 6%
RAN, 5%
Thread Pipe, 5%
Water Tanks, 4%

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Roustabout responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

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