Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, growing
Roustabouts, oil and gas
Assemble or repair oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Perform other tasks as needed.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 95% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.6% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $46,960
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.6%
- Openings a year
- 4,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 45,500
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Install plumbing or piping equipment or systems
- Maintain tools or equipment
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
What the work looks like
- Unscrew or tighten pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
- Dismantle and repair oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
- Guide cranes to move loads about decks.
- Walk flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repair the leaks.
- Lay gas and oil pipelines.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +5.3%
- Solar photovoltaic installersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +36.5%
- Tree trimmers and prunersHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +4.2%
- Medical equipment preparersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +10.8%
Also known as: Floor Hand, Roustabout, Roustabout Hand, Roustabout Pusher, Field Service Roustabout, Oil and Gas Roustabout, Oil Field Roustabout, Production Roustabout.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.