Roustabouts: Job Description, Education, Skills and Duties, Earnings and Outlook
Submitted by: paula
Job Overview Rousabouts are workers of the oil companies who do the routine physical labor as well as maintenance activities around oil wells, natural gas facilities as well as the involved pipelines. There is no specific task assigned to them.Their work is more or less collaborative and cooperatove in nature such that they may be assigned to clearing trees and bushes, transporting pipes, loading and unloading boat and truck contents, mixing and pouring concrete materials, to name a few. These workers are employed in around 32 states of America, with the highest concentration in the state of Texas, California, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
The minimum educational requirement for being a roustrabout is a possession of a high school diploma. However, in this competitive times, more and more applicants earn an associate degree in the field of pertoleum technology, or any related field. This will serve as a formal evidence of their familiarity with as well as skills in oil field operations and equipment. In addition, although most of them are not union members, those who chose to be members may be reperesented by any of these groups: International Union of Petroleum and Industrial Workers, The International Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers,and lastly, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union.
Skills and Abilities
The kind of skills needed in this job are more of technical skills. They should be adept in using differnt heavy equipment being used in clearing sites, drilling, as well as testing wells. Forklifts, cutters, drilling machine, are some of the equipment widely used in this job. Physical strength and endurance is a must, as the work involves tasks physical in nature. Being flexible is high regarded as they will be fulfilling a wide range of tasks from being a site cleaner, to being a tranporter, to being a driller.
Duties
Roustabouts fulfill a variety of tasks ranging from picking up and removing trash from the well sites, to operating heavy equipment, as needed. They prepare the sites by clearing them from unecessary materials, garbage as well as trees.
They may cut down canopies so as to give way to the selected drilling site, and provide space for the drilling equipment, as well as reduce fire hazards and provide a way for transportation vehicles. They may also dig trenches, do filling of the excavated or drilles areas, mix up concrete materials and use them to fill the blocks into building forms. Other tasks that they may be involved include transferring pipes, loading and unloading material from trucks as well as from boats, painting equipment and repairing oil field machinery, as they are capable.
Job Outlook and Earnings
Roustabouts do not earn that much as compared to the other professions. The earning vary depending on the state, the branch of industry they are presently employed, the number of hours of work, as well as the offsetting benefits. The average annual salary of a roustabout points to around 26,210 U.S. dollars per annum. The range of salary starts off from 15,000 up to 35,000 U.S. dollars in a year. With the advent of the advanced oil and drilling technology, and computerization, the employment outlook for these workers is expected to decline.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.
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Word Count: 577 Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 Time: 7:01 AM
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