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What is a landman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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A landman is someone who performs several jobs for gas and oil companies. Most of these jobs involve discussing mineral rights, bargaining on business agreements for examination and development, and confirming possession of minerals. As a landman, you are to agree on a title to potential lands, availability for renting and relevant instructions, and procure investment on probable land by renting via landowners. You are also appointed to strike a bargain with landowners and act as a double agent for gas and oil companies who desire to obtain privileges and explore and conduct research on crude oil from a landholder.

To pursue this career, you need a Bachelor's degree in land and resource management or a similar sector or must be certified as a Legal Assistant. In addition to this, you must exhibit good research, negotiation, analytical, and communication skills. Apart from this, you must be detail-oriented and have a good working principle. A landman earns a yearly salary of $52,899 or $29.24 per hour. It ranges between $35,000 to $88,000.

ScoreLandmanUS Average
Salary
6.5

Avg. Salary $82,853

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.9

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.78%

Asian 6.75%

Black or African American 9.29%

Hispanic or Latino 12.68%

Unknown 4.42%

White 66.07%

Gender

female 27.21%

male 72.79%

Age - 49
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 - 49
Stress level
7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Landman career paths

Key steps to become a landman

  1. Explore landman education requirements

    Most common landman degrees

    Bachelor's

    70.2 %

    Associate

    9.2 %

    Doctorate

    8.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific landman skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Ownership Reports13.13%
    Title Searches8.71%
    Due Diligence7.89%
    Right-of-Way6.25%
    Title Opinions5.68%
  3. Complete relevant landman training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New landmen 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 landman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real landman resumes.
  4. Research landman duties and responsibilities

    • Manage OGA other government agencies (i.e.
    • Manage the tenant improvement schedules and annual CPI rent increases for tenants in designate office locations.
    • Manage land-related licensing, permitting and zoning processes including reporting, oversight of requirements and monitoring to ensure compliance.
    • Manage for multiple medical clients performing tasks such as medical billing, submitting insurance and verifying insurance including Medicare and Medicaid.
  5. Get landman experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a landman. The most common roles before becoming a landman include internship, law clerk team lead and agent.
  6. Prepare your landman resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your landman 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 landman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable landman resume templates

    Build a professional landman 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 landman resume.
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  7. Apply for landman jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a landman job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first landman job

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Average landman salary

The average landman salary in the United States is $82,853 per year or $40 per hour. Landman salaries range between $53,000 and $128,000 per year.

Average landman salary
$82,853 Yearly
$39.83 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do landmen rate their job?

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Based on 1 ratings

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Landman reviews

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5.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2021
Pros

Freedom to work and find answers and be successful in any project no matter how difficult.

Cons

Form has become more important than accurate results. Good for people who are trying to be relevant.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

Many oil companies today do not require their lease analysts to have a four year degree, but pay salaries as if they do. Anyone who understands how the land administration department fits into the bigger picture of total oil company operations can get started. Basic knowledge of the life of an oil and gas lease will give the "standout" edge needed to get that first entry-level job as a lease analyst. For instance, the books available at Oil Patch Press online are excellent training manuals for lease analysts and division order analysts alike.

Cons

Lease Analyst work requires extreme attention to details. Practically every task a lease analyst performs is vital to the continued validity of the oil and gas lease. This career also requires a strong math aptitude. The job requires creating and using complex math equations using primarily addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. A book like Oil and Gas Lease Pooling Calculations Workbook is an excellent primer. Also, already knowing how to use Microsoft Excel is a huge plus for that first job as a lease analyst.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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