Money · 1 of 5
What rig workers make
Motorhand or derrickhand
$83,000
Leasehand or floorhand
$52,000
Driller
$98,000
Job Bank's national median is $40 an hour, about $83,000 a year full time. Rigs run 12-hour shifts, so a full year of work grosses more than the hourly rate suggests, but the patch slows every spring and in every price crash, and there is no pay when the rig is stacked.