According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Fabricate well casings. | 87% |
| Operate controls to stabilize machines and to position and align drills. | 87% |
| Start, stop, and control drilling speed of machines and insertion of casings into holes. | 86% |
| Pour water into wells, or pump water or slush into wells to cool drill bits and to remove drillings. | 86% |
| Regulate air pressure, rotary speed, and downward pressure, according to the type of rock or concrete being drilled. | 86% |
| Select and attach drill bits and drill rods, adding more rods as hole depths increase, and changing drill bits as needed. | 85% |
| Drive or guide truck-mounted equipment into position, level and stabilize rigs, and extend telescoping derricks. | 84% |
| Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns. | 84% |
| Operate machines to flush earth cuttings or to blow dust from holes. | 84% |
| Place and install screens, casings, pumps, and other well fixtures to develop wells. | 82% |
| Verify depths and alignments of boring positions. | 81% |
| Perform routine maintenance and upgrade work on machines and equipment, such as replacing parts, building up drill bits, and lubricating machinery. | 81% |
| Select the appropriate drill for the job, using knowledge of rock or soil conditions. | 81% |
| Document geological formations encountered during work. | 81% |
| Operate water-well drilling rigs and other equipment to drill, bore, and dig for water wells or for environmental assessment purposes. | 80% |
| Drive trucks, tractors, or truck-mounted drills to and from work sites. | 80% |
| Assemble and position machines, augers, casing pipes, and other equipment, using hand and power tools. | 79% |
| Record drilling progress and geological data. | 79% |
| Retrieve lost equipment from bore holes, using retrieval tools and equipment. | 79% |
| Review client requirements and proposed locations for drilling operations to determine feasibility, and to determine cost estimates. | 77% |
| Drill or bore holes in rock for blasting, grouting, anchoring, or building foundations. | 76% |
| Perform pumping tests to assess well performance. | 75% |
| Disinfect, reconstruct, and redevelop contaminated wells and water pumping systems, and clean and disinfect new wells in preparation for use. | 74% |
| Design well pumping systems. | 73% |
| Signal crane operators to move equipment. | 70% |
| Withdraw drill rods from holes, and extract core samples. | 69% |
| Inspect core samples to determine nature of strata, or take samples to laboratories for analysis. | 68% |
| Retract augers to force discharge dirt from holes. | 68% |
| Observe electronic graph recorders and flow meters that monitor the water used to flush debris from holes. | 66% |
