Pit hand vs oil rig roughneck

The differences between pit hands and oil rig roughnecks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pit hand has an average salary of $42,397, which is higher than the $40,338 average annual salary of an oil rig roughneck.

The top three skills for a pit hand include rig, floor equipment and mud pumps. The most important skills for an oil rig roughneck are rig, tongs, and .

Pit hand vs oil rig roughneck overview

	Pit Hand	Oil Rig Roughneck
Yearly salary	$42,397	$40,338
Hourly rate	$20.38	$19.39
Growth rate	1%	-
Number of jobs	4,232	1,906
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	High School Diploma, 61%
Average age	43	40
Years of experience	-	-

Pit hand vs oil rig roughneck salary

Pit hands and oil rig roughnecks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pit Hand	Oil Rig Roughneck
Average salary	$42,397	$40,338
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $56,000	Between $26,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between pit hand and oil rig roughneck education

There are a few differences between a pit hand and an oil rig roughneck in terms of educational background:

	Pit Hand	Oil Rig Roughneck
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	High School Diploma, 61%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Pit hand vs oil rig roughneck demographics

Here are the differences between pit hands' and oil rig roughnecks' demographics:

	Pit Hand	Oil Rig Roughneck
Average age	43	40
Gender ratio	Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 7.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 1.2% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	2%

Differences between pit hand and oil rig roughneck duties and responsibilities

Pit hand example responsibilities.

Manage and perform rig operations, repair large mud pump motors, hoppers, shakers, generators, valves and agitators.
Record all fabrication or machine operating parameters accurately and legibly.
Adhere to all company safety policies and procedures as per Nabors policy book and standards.

Oil rig roughneck example responsibilities.

Operate heavy equipment with CDL certification.
Clamp holding fixtures on ends of hoisting cables.

Pit hand vs oil rig roughneck skills

Common pit hand skills

Rig, 42%
Floor Equipment, 30%
Mud Pumps, 5%
Mud Weight, 4%
Tongs, 3%
Drilling Fluid, 3%

Common oil rig roughneck skills

Rig, 90%
Tongs, 10%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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