# Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

> Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/earth-drillers-except-oil-and-gas
- SOC code: 47-5023.00
- Career family: Construction and extraction
- Median annual pay: $60,190 (10th percentile $44,460, 90th percentile $83,800)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +3.6%
- Openings a year: 1,400
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 100 |
| Investigative (I) | 44 |
| Artistic (A) | 2 |
| Social (S) | 4 |
| Enterprising (E) | 12 |
| Conventional (C) | 45 |

## What you'd do

- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 90/100)
- Controlling Machines and Processes (importance 88/100)
- Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment (importance 86/100)
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment (importance 80/100)
- Getting Information (importance 78/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 74/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 72/100)
- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 72/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 71/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 71/100)

## Skills

Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Equipment Maintenance, Monitoring, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Coordination, Equipment Selection, Quality Control Analysis

## Knowledge

Mechanical, Administration and Management, Transportation, Public Safety and Security, Design, Mathematics, Production and Processing, Law and Government, Customer and Personal Service, English Language

## Also called

Auger Operator, Blast Driller, Blast Hole Driller, Boring Machine Operator, Churn Drill Operator, Churn Driller, Construction Driller, Construction Well Drill Operator, Core Driller, Debris Monitor

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Ground Transportation](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4902) (CIP 4902, 213 colleges)
- [Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4605) (CIP 4605, 165 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Ivy Tech Community College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/ivy-tech-community-college-1314) | Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services | $94,410 | $93,701 | not reported |
| [Pennsylvania College of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pennsylvania-college-of-technology-2096) | Ground Transportation | $54,938 | $62,389 | $12,000 |
| [New England Institute of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/new-england-institute-of-technology-1845) | Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services | $49,923 | $54,989 | $12,000 |

## Related careers

- [Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/rotary-drill-operators-oil-and-gas): $67,890 median pay
- [Helpers--Extraction Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/helpers-extraction-workers): $47,730 median pay
- [Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/drilling-and-boring-machine-tool-setters-operators-and-tenders-metal-and-plastic): $49,080 median pay
- [Continuous Mining Machine Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/continuous-mining-machine-operators): $61,810 median pay
- [Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/excavating-and-loading-machine-and-dragline-operators-surface-mining): $57,430 median pay
- [Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/operating-engineers-and-other-construction-equipment-operators): $59,850 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.