AI Career Radar

Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas

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.

AI exposure28 / 100Low exposure

Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.

What drives the score

Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.

Degree of automation22
Freedom to set tasks77
Repeating the same tasks41
$60,190Median annual wage, U.S.BLS OEWS
+3.6%Jobs, 2025 to 2035 (about average)BLS Employment Projections
54Skill durability (fragile)Transferability, out of 100

How well your skills transfer

Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.

Highest transferability first

Both scores out of 100

Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Critical Thinking
63
56
Monitoring
63
53
Active Listening
63
50
Speaking
63
50
Judgment and Decision Making
63
47
Coordination
62
50
Complex Problem Solving
62
50
Active Learning
62
44
Time Management
61
47
Reading Comprehension
61
44
Show 25 more skills
Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Social Perceptiveness
60
41
Writing
60
35
Instructing
58
44
Learning Strategies
58
31
Systems Analysis
57
31
Service Orientation
56
35
Systems Evaluation
56
28
Persuasion
54
35
Mathematics
53
31
Negotiation
52
31
Science
52
16
Management of Personnel Resources
50
35
Operations Analysis
49
22
Installation
48
22
Equipment Maintenance
47
56
Equipment Selection
47
50
Troubleshooting
47
50
Quality Control Analysis
47
50
Technology Design
47
22
Management of Material Resources
47
22
Management of Financial Resources
47
19
Operations Monitoring
46
75
Repairing
46
47
Programming
45
0
Operation and Control
43
72

Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.

Jobs you could move to

Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.

80/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$129,180
10-yr growth
+21%
Skill gap
23%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Reading Comprehension, Systems Analysis, Writing, Systems Evaluation

80/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$135,880
10-yr growth
+21.1%
Skill gap
22%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning, Monitoring

80/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$53,140
10-yr growth
+36.5%
Skill gap
11%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Installation, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making

80/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$95,320
10-yr growth
+10.3%
Skill gap
12%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Installation, Systems Analysis, Active Listening, Troubleshooting

#6Dental HygienistsHealthcare
79/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$98,100
10-yr growth
+8%
Skill gap
13%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Active Listening, Writing, Service Orientation, Persuasion

A second source of income, before you need it

This page can tell you where Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.

Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.

Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.