Money · 1 of 5
What the wage survey shows
Median
$58,160
New hand
$38,940
Top tenth
$97,560
These figures are for service unit operators in oil and gas, one of several rig jobs the survey counts separately: the median is $58,160 a year and the bottom tenth near $38,940. Derrick operators and rotary drill operators have their own codes at broadly similar money. Offshore work and the big shale basins pay well above this, and a slow year can pay nothing at all.