Will AI replace Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas?
Estimated risk score: 15 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (0 to 34).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 30 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 47-5023.00 · Construction and Extraction
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 2 of its 30 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Record drilling progress and geological data.
- Document geological formations encountered during work.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 24 of its 30 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Assemble and position machines, augers, casing pipes, and other equipment, using hand and power tools.
- Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks.
- Drive trucks, tractors, or truck-mounted drills to and from work sites.
- Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills.
- Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes.
- Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery.
What the job is
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.
Also called: Stoper, Wagoner, Well Digger, Drill Runner, Soil Sampler, Test Driller, Wash Driller, Churn Driller.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Construction and Extraction). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate