Rig hand vs rigging up worker

The differences between rig hands and rigging up workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rig hand has an average salary of $33,851, which is higher than the $28,605 average annual salary of a rigging up worker.

The top three skills for a rig hand include tongs, CDL and H2S. The most important skills for a rigging up worker are CDL, tongs, and .

Rig hand vs rigging up worker overview

	Rig Hand	Rigging Up Worker
Yearly salary	$33,851	$28,605
Hourly rate	$16.27	$13.75
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	4,329	19,539
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 60%	High School Diploma, 43%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Rig hand vs rigging up worker salary

Rig hands and rigging up workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Rig Hand	Rigging Up Worker
Average salary	$33,851	$28,605
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $19,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rig hand and rigging up worker education

There are a few differences between a rig hand and a rigging up worker in terms of educational background:

	Rig Hand	Rigging Up Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 60%	High School Diploma, 43%
Most common major	General Studies	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Rig hand vs rigging up worker demographics

Here are the differences between rig hands' and rigging up workers' demographics:

	Rig Hand	Rigging Up Worker
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 96.7% Female, 3.3%	Male, 98.1% Female, 1.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 1.2% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.3%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between rig hand and rigging up worker duties and responsibilities

Rig hand example responsibilities.

Manage and perform rig operations, repair large mud pump motors, hoppers, shakers, generators, valves and agitators.
Complete OSHA 10 and H2S certifications.
Maintain current OSHA and CDL license.
Wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE).
Operate a methane work over rig and run a crew .... CDL
Help guide objects while elevate in air by crane inspect tools, equipment and PPE before using.

Rigging up worker example responsibilities.

Operate drill floor equipment, iron roughneck, rotary tongs, slips, elevators, floor winches, safety clamps.
Follow DDI and customer operating and reporting procedures.
Clean machines to keep up efficiency.dispose of defective feed.operate forkliftoperate bobcat
Clean and sanitize processing equipment in preparation for USDA inspections.

Rig hand vs rigging up worker skills

Common rig hand skills

Tongs, 20%
CDL, 16%
H2S, 11%
CPR, 7%
Flow Lines, 6%
PPE, 4%

Common rigging up worker skills

CDL, 56%
Tongs, 44%

Rig Hand vs. similar jobs

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What similar roles do

Roustabout responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

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