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Date: 10/24/2026

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. Includes fishing-tool technicians.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.
    • Examine unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions.
    • Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction.
    • Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges.
    • Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.
    • Insert detection instruments into wells with obstructions.
    • Monitor sound wave-generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels.
    • Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems.
    • Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
    • Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.
    • Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.
    • Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.
    • Close and seal wells no longer in use.
    • Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around lodged obstacles.
    • Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.
    • Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.
    • Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.
    • Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.
    • Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe.
    • Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action.

    Skills

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    Knowledge

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    Career Video

    Video not available
    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 61260/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 29.45/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 350
    • Yearly Projected Openings 30

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Cautiousness
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Perseverance

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Cement pumping units
    • Claw hammer
    • Completion hydraulic pumps
    • Depth indicators
    • Derricks
    • Desktop computer
    • Diesel engines
    • Downhole fishing poles
    • Electric downhole pumps
    • Goggles
    • Hex keys
    • Hoists
    • Levels
    • Locking pliers
    • Mallets
    • Microcontrollers
    • Mud pumps
    • Notebook computer
    • Personal computer
    • Pipe handling equipment
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Plaster or mortar mixers
    • Portable data input terminals
    • Power drills
    • Pressure controllers
    • Pressure indicators
    • Protective gloves
    • Ratchets
    • Rod pumps
    • Screwdrivers
    • Slickline chemical cutters
    • Slickline jet cutters
    • Slickline severing tools
    • Sonars
    • Strain gauges
    • Tape measures
    • Through tubing perforation guns
    • Utility knives
    • Well testing downhole tools
    • Wellhead beam pumps
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Document management software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Facilities management software
    • Industrial control software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Time accounting software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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