Will AI replace Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas?

Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 19 official task statements scored for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas (United States, SOC 47-5013), 8% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 11 out of 100 (range 9–16, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.

Which tasks in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” can AI already do?

The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes” (69/100, high); “Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction” (34/100, low); “Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe” (25/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.

Which tasks in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” stay human?

About 92% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions” (0/100, minimal); “Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools” (0/100, minimal); “Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.

What should someone working in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” do about AI?

Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 8% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 92% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.

How is the AI exposure score for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas calculated?

Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 19 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

US dataswitch to UK

Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas

maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools, conferring with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells and operating pumps that circulate water. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 8%
changing shape: 0%
staying human: 92%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 11 out of 100 (9–16 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 19 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for service unit operators, oil and gas is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

What shifts is preparing reports of services: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.

Your week, as this page understands it

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. The job title says “service unit operators”, “oil” or “gas”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But service unit operators, oil and gas is not one task. It is 19 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 8%
changing shape: 0%
staying human: 92%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

1 task

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Preparing reports of services
This is reading one thing and writing another: reports of services in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 69 out of 100 (65–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Service and time reports are routine paperwork that software can fill in from job records.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 4/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Changing shape

0 tasks

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.

Staying human

18 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools
This work happens in the physical world: safety inspections, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Safety checks on rigs and tools mean physically handling the equipment on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Conferring with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells
This work happens in the physical world: this work, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Confer with others to gather information regarding pipe or tool sizes or borehole conditions in wells.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 21 out of 100 (14–28 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Much of this is asking colleagues what is down the hole, which relies on people who were there.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating controls that raise derricks or level rigs
This work happens in the physical world: controls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Operate controls that raise derricks or level rigs.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Raising a derrick or leveling a rig is done with hands on the controls at the well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Listening to engines, rotary chains or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions
This work happens in the physical world: engines, rotary chains or other equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · Core
Source: “Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Hearing a fault in an engine or chain means standing next to it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Operating pumps that circulate water
This work happens in the physical world: pumps, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Operate pumps that circulate water, oil, or other fluids through wells to remove sand or other materials obstructing the free flow of oil.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Running the pumps that clear a well is hands-on operation at the site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Closing and sealing wells no longer
This work happens in the physical world: wells no longer, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Close and seal wells no longer in use.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Sealing a well that is no longer used is physical site work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Interpreting instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction
This work happens in the physical world: instrument readings, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 34 out of 100 (27–41 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Reading instrument traces to judge depth is data interpretation, though the gauges are read at the well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Threading cables through derrick pulleys
This work happens in the physical world: cables, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Threading cable through derrick pulleys is done by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Installing pressure-control devices onto wellheads
This work happens in the physical world: pressure-control devices, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Install pressure-control devices onto wellheads.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fitting pressure control gear onto a wellhead is heavy physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 9 tasks

Selecting fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: methods, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 25 out of 100 (18–32 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Tool choice follows service manuals, but the decisive clues come from what the crew sees and feels at the well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Examining unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: unserviceable wells, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Supplemental
Source: “Examine unserviceable wells to determine actions to be taken to improve well conditions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 25 out of 100 (18–32 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Diagnosing a struggling well uses documented methods, but the useful evidence is gathered at the well itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Monitoring sound wave-generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: sound, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Supplemental
Source: “Monitor sound wave-generating or detecting mechanisms to determine well fluid levels.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 13 out of 100 (6–20 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Monitoring sound equipment for fluid levels means operating instruments at the wellhead.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Directing drilling crews performing activities
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: crews performing activities, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Direct drilling crews performing activities such as assembling and connecting pipe, applying weights to drill pipes, or drilling around lodged obstacles.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–8 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Directing a crew on the rig floor means being there and being trusted by the people doing the lifting.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Driving truck-mounted units to well sites
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: truck-mounted units, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Core
Source: “Drive truck-mounted units to well sites.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Driving the service truck to a well site is physical work behind the wheel.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Perforating well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: well casings, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Perforate well casings or sidewalls of boreholes with explosive charges.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Setting explosive charges in a well is licensed physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: specialized equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Operate specialized equipment to remove obstructions by backing off or severing pipes by chemical or explosive action.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cutting or severing pipe with chemicals or explosives is physical work down the hole.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Inserting detection instruments into wells with obstructions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: detection instruments, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · Supplemental
Source: “Insert detection instruments into wells with obstructions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Lowering instruments into an obstructed well is hands-on rig work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Applying green technologies or techniques
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: green technologies, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · Supplemental
Source: “Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Applying these drilling and lift techniques is equipment work at the well site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: $58,160a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
People doing this job: 43,140in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: reports of services in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: preparing reports of services. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where safety inspections get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 8% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 0% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 92% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 19 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Preparing reports of services is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to reports of services, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether safety inspections are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to service unit operators, oil and gas (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was earth drillers, except oil and gas: only about 6% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 11/100 here, with only 8% of the task list in the top band, and “maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already drive truck-mounted units to well sites, and their equivalent is to drive trucks, tractors, or truck-mounted drills to and from work sites. Across both published task lists that is about 6% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 6% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already thread cables through derrick pulleys, using hand tools, and their equivalent is to string cables through pulleys and blocks. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. And it is a narrow door: about 10,590 of those jobs against 43,140 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 25% as many seats.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Wellhead Pumpers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already install pressure-control devices onto wellheads, and their equivalent is to attach pumps and hoses to wellheads. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 8% of its task weight, across 19 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like maintaining and performing safety inspections on equipment and tools arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Mining and quarry workers and related operatives is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Mining and quarry workers and related operatives, Construction operatives n.e.c. and Production managers and directors in mining and energy. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
American Job Center locator
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
- CareerOneStop local help hub
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop
Free

No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it

Nothing Collab365 runs is built for service unit operators / oil / gas, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 8% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.

Try The AI Authority free →

7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.

The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for service unit operators / oil / gas. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.

Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for service unit operators / oil / gas launches. Nothing else.

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 19 official task statements scored for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas (United States, SOC 47-5013), 8% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 11 out of 100 (range 9–16, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Prepare reports of services rendered, tools used, or time required, for billing purposes” (69/100, high); “Interpret instrument readings to ascertain the depth of obstruction” (34/100, low); “Select fishing methods or tools for removing obstacles such as liners, broken casing, screens, or drill pipe” (25/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” stay human?: About 92% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Listen to engines, rotary chains, or other equipment to detect faulty operations or unusual well conditions” (0/100, minimal); “Maintain and perform safety inspections on equipment and tools” (0/100, minimal); “Apply green technologies or techniques, such as the use of coiled tubing, slim-hole drilling, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or gas lift systems” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 8% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 92% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 19 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: onet-db (im-rt)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.