AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-5012.00
Will AI replace Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas?
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 20 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 20 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Maintain records of footage drilled, location and nature of strata penetrated, materials and tools used, services rendered, and time required. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Maintain and adjust machinery to ensure proper performance. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair or replace defective parts of machinery, such as rotary drill rigs, water trucks, air compressors, and pumps, using hand tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Line drilled holes with pipes, and install all necessary hardware, to prepare new wells. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Push levers and brake pedals to control gasoline, diesel, electric, or steam draw works that lower and raise drill pipes and casings in and out of wells. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Connect sections of drill pipe, using hand tools and powered wrenches and tongs. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Start and examine operation of slush pumps to ensure circulation and consistency of drilling fluid or mud in well. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Locate and recover lost or broken bits, casings, and drill pipes from wells, using special tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Weigh clay, and mix with water and chemicals to make drilling mud. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Direct rig crews in drilling and other activities, such as setting up rigs and completing or servicing wells. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Monitor progress of drilling operations, and select and change drill bits according to the nature of strata, using hand tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cap wells with packers, or turn valves, to regulate outflow of oil from wells. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean and oil pulleys, blocks, and cables. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Bolt together pump and engine parts, and connect tanks and flow lines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Position and prepare truck-mounted derricks at drilling areas specified on field maps. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove core samples during drilling to determine the nature of the strata being drilled. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Plug observation wells, and restore sites. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 20 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 20 of 20. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 26% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 26% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 75% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 12,600
- Median annual wage
- $67,890
- Middle half of earners
- $53,810 to $81,360
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +0.2%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 80% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure28
- Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas 78% skill overlap, about 8 months to move Exposure17
- Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas 72% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure21
- Roustabouts, Oil and Gas 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure15
- Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure23
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas and AI
Will AI replace Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas?
Not on current evidence. None of the 20 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 17 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas?
17 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 20 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 20 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective, at 35 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 26% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 75% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas, and what do they earn?
12,600 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $67,890 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +0.2% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas
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