Drill Rig Operating
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Drill Rig Operating occupation series (code 5729): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Drill Rig Operating is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 78 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family. At an average salary of $75,988 it pays below the federal average, and headcount grew from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- +1.3%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 10.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #11 of 15
FedScope read on Drill Rig Operating (thin series)
Headcount moved up versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family (code 57) groups Drill Rig Operating together with 14 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Drill Rig Operating postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family. Drill Rig Operating makes up 0.8% of the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family's 9,311 combined employees.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Drill Rig Operating pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$75,988
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-35.2%
Where Drill Rig Operating ranks on lean federal pay
Drill Rig Operating earns more on average than 32% of federal occupation series (175 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Drill Rig Operating sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Drill Rig Operating.
Related Occupations in Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor Vehicle Operating | 4,012 | $61,944 | 12.6 yrs |
| Engineering Equipment Operating | 2,691 | $78,062 | 13.2 yrs |
| Crane Operating | 616 | $90,118 | 13.9 yrs |
| Misc Transportation/mobile Equipment Oper | 512 | $60,267 | 13 yrs |
| Tractor Operating | 437 | $60,593 | 11.6 yrs |
| Small Craft Operating | 225 | $76,720 | 12.5 yrs |
| Deckhand | 192 | $66,505 | 7.3 yrs |
| Ship Operating | 129 | $101,346 | 14.4 yrs |
| Fork Lift Operating | 126 | $67,848 | 12.4 yrs |
| Riverboat Operating | 120 | n/a | 15 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Drill Rig Operating outside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (78 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($75,988 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Drill Rig Operating pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Transportation/mobile Equipment Operation Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Drill Rig Operating postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.