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Roustabout

Roustabouts work on oil and gas rigs, looking after equipment, unloading supplies and helping the drilling team with tasks.

Annual Salary

£19,000 to £35,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

42 to 48 a week

You could work: days / nights / weekends; on shifts

0.9%
Future employment

There will be 0.9% fewer Roustabout jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a roustabout, you'll:

  • clean and look after the drilling deck and equipment
  • prepare drilling equipment for others to use
  • check pipes for leaks and report them
  • help technicians repair pumps, drills and leaks
  • operate lifting gear to unload and store supplies and equipment

Working environment

You may need to wear protective clothing and safety clothing and use safety equipment.

You could work on a rig.

Your working environment may be physically demanding, outdoors in all weathers and at height.

You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or by applying directly.

Apprenticeship

You could do an apprenticeship before applying to work on offshore rigs, such as an Engineering Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship or a Maintenance and Operations Engineering Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
For more information
Direct application

You may be able to apply directly for jobs if you've got experience and qualifications related to oil, gas, engineering or construction.

More information

You can find more details about working in the energy industry from My Energy Future.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

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With experience, you could:become a crane driver on an oil or gas rig; train more to become an offshore drilling worker; train to fix underwater pipes as a commercial diver

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • the ability to work well with others
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • problem-solving skills
  • physical fitness and endurance
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • knowledge of public safety and security
  • physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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