Earth Drillers
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.
About the profession
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.
How to Get Started
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Career Match Test →Explore the Career Path section to see progression from junior to senior
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Jump to Learning Path →Video
Occupation on screen: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas (O*NET 47-5023.00). Closed captions in English and Spanish. CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)
Personality Fit
Based on the Earth Drillers role, here are the RIASEC personality types that tend to thrive in this career. While these alignments are common, individual success depends on motivation, skill development, and finding the right work environment.
Enterprising
Leading, persuading, business
Social
Helping, teaching, working with people
Conventional
Organizing, detail-oriented, structured
Not sure if these types match you? Take the full RIASEC assessment (4 min) to discover your personality profile and see how it aligns with hundreds of careers.
Career Path
Your career progression roadmap with salary growth at each level
Career Ladder
Trainee Earth Driller → Technician Earth Driller → Senior Technician Earth Driller → Lead Technician Earth Driller
Where are you on this career path?
Click a level below to set your current position
Salary Growth
4
Levels
$82K
Top Salary
8+
Years
Learning Path
Skills you need to develop and courses to get there
🚀
Set your current level first
Go to the Career Path tab and select your current level to see your personalized learning plan.
Go to Career PathCareer levels
Timeline: 0-2 | Entry Level Base: $40,560 - $50,990/year With equity/bonuses: $44,616 - $61,188 Top markets (SF/NYC): $46,644 - $61,188 Execute core tasks using Operations…
Skills used in this career
Click any skill to see how to learn it and what salary boost it gives
Day in Life
Junior vs Senior, daily schedule breakdown
9am, Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills. 10am, Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes.
Income Dynamics
Conservative and aggressive scenarios for 10–15 years
Year 1: Entry level $28,392 - $45,891 Year 2-3: Junior level $50,990 - $58,349 Year 4-6: Mid level $58,349 - $63,263 Year 7-10: Senior level $63,263 - $75,443 Year 10+:…
Is this for me?
15 questions, answer honestly
You find the craft of a Earth Driller genuinely interesting, not just a paycheck You enjoy working with Operations Monitoring and Operation and Control You communicate clearly…
💰 Salary Range
BLS OEWS, May 2023Half of U.S. workers in this occupation earn more than this, half earn less.
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Related Reading
Related Holland / RIASEC Types