About This Career

Assembles or repairs oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Performs other tasks as needed.

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway.

A person in this career:

• Unscrews or tightens pipes, casing, tubing, and pump rods, using hand and power wrenches and tongs.
• Dismantles and repairs oil field machinery, boilers, and steam engine parts, using hand tools and power tools.
• Guides cranes to move loads about decks.
• Walks flow lines to locate leaks, using electronic detectors and by making visual inspections, and repairs the leaks.
• Lays gas and oil pipelines.
• Bolts together pump and engine parts.
• Moves pipes to and from trucks, using truck winches and motorized lifts, or by hand.
• Cleans trucks used in the fields.
• Bolts or nails together wood or steel framework to erect derricks.
• Digs holes, sets forms, and mixes and pours concrete into forms to make foundations for wood or steel derricks.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
• Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Maintaining a body position that prevents falling when in an unstable position
• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Detecting sounds and hearing the differences between sounds of different pitch and loudness
• Seeing clearly up close
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Overnight travel
• Rotating shift work
• Weekend work