The oil and gas industry employs many thousands of workers to maintain the various systems involved with the excavation of oil and natural gas. These oil and gas technicians are needed to assist engineers, utilize measuring instruments to obtain data on natural resource,s and record the data they find. Oil and gas technicians work a much different schedule than most workers, often remaining on-site for weeks at a time. In return, most technicians earn wages that can reach upwards of $70,000 per year.
Average Salary
The average salary among all oil and gas technicians working in the United States was $60,410 per year as of May 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On an hourly basis, these technicians, also known as geological and petroleum technicians, made an average wage of $29.04. Job applicants with a bachelor's degree in a related field of study, such as hydrology or environmental engineering, stand a better chance of earning technician work.
Salary Range
In the United States, annual wages for the middle 50 percent of geological and petroleum technicians, between the 25th and 75th percentile, ranged from $38,990 to $73,910 as of May 2010, with hourly rates ranging from $18.75 to $35.53.
This salary range covers the three main types of oil and gas technicians: mechanical technicians, electrical technicians and instrument and control technicians. Mechanical technicians are responsible for maintaining all mechanical systems and parts, including valves, pumps, engines and gas turbines. Electrical technicians help control the electrical systems powering the extraction and distribution process. Instrument and control technicians maintain the effectiveness of the various instruments providing measurement readings on system pressure and temperature, as well as oil and gas flow. Some technicians can earn higher salaries by being able to cover a technician's duties in two or more areas.
Geography
In the United States, annual salaries for geological and petroleum technicians were highest in California, where they earned an average of $93,280 as of May 2010, according to the bureau. Other states with high salaries for oil and gas technicians included Nevada, averaging $76,020 per year, Alaska, at $67,190, and New York, at $64,360. As of June 2011, available employment opportunities for U.S. oil and gas technicians were a lot more prevalent throughout the North American continent than the rest of the world, according to the job tracking website InfoOil Careers, where most advertised openings were in Canada and the United States, although companies in Australia, Norway, Denmark, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also had job offers for international workers.
Other Positions
Oil and gas technicians make less than many other positions employed in the oil and gas industry. The top compensation in the industry is reserved for drillers, who made an average of $129,000 per year as of 2011, according to the annual Rigzone Salary Survey of the oil and gas industry. Other top earners in the industry include geoscientists, who earned an average of $108,000 per year, and management or supervisors, who averaged $102,000 per year.
Tags: United States, geological petroleum, geological petroleum technicians, petroleum technicians, 2010 according, average year