Roustabout
Roustabouts work on oil and gas rigs, maintaining equipment, unloading supplies and helping the drilling team with tasks.
Also known as: Oil rig worker, oil and gas worker
- Starter salary£28,000 a year
- Experienced£48,000 a year
What you'll do
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 could work on a rig.
Your working environment may be physically demanding, outdoors in all weathers and at height.
You may need to wear protective clothing and safety clothing and use safety equipment.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
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
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to become a roustabout
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
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.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- complete basic offshore safety induction and emergency training
- be over 18 years of age
- have an offshore medical certificate
Career path and progression
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
Career tips
Oil and gas workers work shifts, for example 10 to 12 hours a day over a 2-week period, followed by 2 weeks' leave. They might follow this shift pattern for several months at a time.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0