Construction and Extraction Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 47-5013

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

The published band from $38,940 to $97,560 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas: First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers ($80K) , Brickmasons and Blockmasons ($62K) , Tapers ($68K) , Structural Iron and Steel Workers ($63K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 47-5013 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools
  2. 2. Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs
  3. 3. Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions
  4. 4. Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes
  5. 5. Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads
  6. 6. Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around l…
  7. 7. Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells
  8. 8. Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil
  9. 9. Drive truck-mounted units to well sites
  10. 10. Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction
  11. 11. Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools
  12. 12. Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas: O*NET ranks Operations Monitoring first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 47-5013 - lead skill Operations Monitoring at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Mechanical. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Operations Monitoring 4.0
  2. 2. Critical Thinking 3.8
  3. 3. Operation and Control 3.8
  4. 4. Monitoring 3.6
  5. 5. Active Listening 3.4
  6. 6. Troubleshooting 3.4
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3
  8. 8. Complex Problem Solving 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Mechanical 4.0
  2. 2. Mathematics 3.9
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 3.7
  4. 4. Engineering and Technology 3.4
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 3.3
  6. 6. Education and Training 3.2
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$38,940 to $97,560
median $58,160 · ~2.5× spread
$58K
National median
↑ +0%
Growth 2024-2034
4,100
Annual openings
43,140
Estimated US jobs
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
Highest-pay peer · $80K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

1. Florida $62,050
2. Montana $77,750
3. Wyoming $62,560
4. Missouri $90,580
5. California $62,580
6. New Mexico $64,990
7. Nebraska $62,990
8. Ohio $61,260
9. North Dakota $60,810
10. Alaska $106,480

Other Construction and Extraction Occupations titles

  1. 1. Tapers $68,270
  2. 2. First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $79,920
  3. 3. Structural Iron and Steel Workers $62,780
  4. 4. Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining $74,500
  5. 5. Brickmasons and Blockmasons $62,120
  6. 6. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters $63,800

The OEWS band for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas runs from $38,940 (10th) to $97,560 (90th), about 2.5× wide, with median $58,160. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +0% change between 2024 and 2034 (slower than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 4,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Florida at $62,050. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers at $79,920. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas pay-rank #27 in Construction and Extraction Occupations

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas sits at pay-rank #27 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 47-5013

Florida · top state for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

$62K published median

Montana · #2 state pay

$78K · behind Florida

First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

Highest-pay peer vs Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas · $80K

Brickmasons and Blockmasons

Lower-pay peer beside Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas · $62K

Compare Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas mid-table among Construction and Extraction Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #27 of 60 detailed Construction and Extraction Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Insulation Workers, Mechanical ($58K), Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas ($59K), Plasterers and Stucco Masons ($58K), Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining ($57K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do service unit operators, oil and gas do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas. Leading ones include: Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools; Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs; Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions; Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for service unit operators, oil and gas? ▼
For SOC 47-5013, O*NET importance scores lead with Operations Monitoring (4.0), Critical Thinking (3.8), Operation and Control (3.8), Monitoring (3.6). Knowledge areas emphasize Mechanical, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $38,940 and the 90th at $97,560 for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas (2.5× spread). The national median is $58,160. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas is +0%. Projected annual openings: about 4,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: slower than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas? ▼
Florida ($62,050), Montana ($77,750), Wyoming ($62,560) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 47-5013. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics