To pursue a career in earth drilling, acquiring a degree in soil science, construction, construction management or engineering is important. This has to be followed by a couple of years of on the job training with reputed companies to garner some valuable exposure. With experience and skill, you can move your way up in this field to become a manager or contractor. Verification of a years experience at a drilling well and successful completion of the licensing exam qualifies an engineer to be a licensed driller.



Drillers have to possess knowledge about the specific nature of the earth at the location of drilling and its environment. Without this, they cannot guarantee the safety of their crews involved in digging and drilling down the earth in adverse conditions. The texture of the soil too varies from place to place; from soft clay to coarse soil to lava to fertile soil, and snow, which covers large parts of the land mass in the northern hemisphere. The following brief attempts to explain the type of job and the usual tasks that you will be expected to do as an earth driller, so you can determine your flair for a career in this field.

Drilling engineers are responsible for contriving and managing economically the drilling of holes in the earth for collecting samples of soil and natural gas present at the site. Their job also involves inserting pipes, lay signs or poles, making holes to set up telephone poles, or small tunnels running parallel to the land. They have to work closely with drilling contractors (the operator of the rig and its team), service contractors and compliance personnel. Drillers must be resilient physically because the nature of their job requires extensive core drilling to tap sub surface salt and water repository, use of explosives, horizontal machines and earth boring machines.

Sometimes, due to the inaccessibility of certain drilling sites, conveyance drillers have to drive automobiles such as heavy weight trucks or fly helicopters to reach the site. It is a drillers job to ensure that the drill is correctly placed, leveled and steady before the drilling occurs. He must also check if all the necessary parts are intact and if the angle of the drill is perfect. Drillers are expected to know how deep and fast to drill and when to begin and stop the drill. During drilling, construction and well drillers are expected to carefully observe the tone of the drill to determine the layer of earth being drilled. This is an important piece of information for them to base their decision to either change the drill bit or continue to drill, if required.

Some construction drillers are also known as core drill operators. Their job is to extract samples of earth to test availability of ores or minerals and to evaluate which layer of rock they belong to. They are also responsible for recording their findings and base their inferences on the drilled samples, before being sent to the lab for testing.

Earth drillers can earn anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 a year. Typically, expenses such as food, lodging and transportation when they are deputed to different drilling sites are borne by their employer. Some companies also offer experienced drillers benefits such as a per diem site allowance in addition to health, dental and retirement plans.