Well Drilling/Driller Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Well Drilling/Driller maps to BLS occupations averaging about $55,741, with roughly 5,310 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,162; a top linked occupation is Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic.
Key Statistics
Well Drilling/Driller: what the data shows
Common questions about well drilling/driller degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a well drilling/driller degree?
A Well Drilling/Driller program is classified under NCES CIP 46.0504.
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to set up, maintain, repair, and operate well drilling equipment; locate, drill, construct, and develop water, gas, and oil wells; and test and monitor wells to ensure adequate flow. Includes applications to home, business, and industrial uses
Types of well drilling/driller degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 46.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Blasting/Blaster (CIP 46.0505)
- Pipefitting/Pipefitter and Sprinkler Fitter (CIP 46.0502)
- Plumbing Technology (CIP 46.0503)
How long does it take to get a well drilling/driller degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 46.0504 in our file:
- 7 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a well drilling/driller degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Well Drilling/Driller to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 5,310 | $46,630 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a well drilling/driller degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,162 and median net price is $8,761.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Well Drilling/Driller and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,162 Median In-State Public
$14,343 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Well Drilling/Driller majors are, on average, $4,162 for in-state public colleges, and $14,343 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Well Drilling/Driller programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Well Drilling/Driller from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Well Drilling/Driller.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 2 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 58,267 |
| 3 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
| 4 | NUC University | PR | 28,918 |
| 5 | College of Southern Nevada | NV | 27,252 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Well Drilling/Driller programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 2 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 3 | College of the Canyons | CA | $1,166 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College | CA | $1,238 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Trade Technical College | CA | $1,238 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Well Drilling/Driller programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 2 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 4 | Radford M Locklin Technical College | FL | $987 |
| 5 | Cleveland Community College | NC | $995 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Well Drilling/Driller programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Well Drilling/Driller programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 46.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Blasting/Blaster CIP 46.0505
- Pipefitting/Pipefitter and Sprinkler Fitter CIP 46.0502
- Plumbing Technology CIP 46.0503
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 46.0504 in the survey year used in our extract (7 total across levels below).
- 7 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $55,741. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Well Drilling/Driller graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $55,741 | 5,310 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$55,741 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Well Drilling/Driller majors is $55,741.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Well Drilling/Driller majors.
Occupations by Share
5,310 2023 Workforce
The number of Well Drilling/Driller graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Well Drilling/Driller by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Well Drilling/Driller in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Well Drilling/Driller.
Age distribution for Well Drilling/Driller degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
7 Total Degrees Awarded
7 Male (100.00%)
Gender distribution of Well Drilling/Driller degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
3 White (42.86%)
3 Black or African American (42.86%)
1 Hispanic or Latino (14.29%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Well Drilling/Driller degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Well Drilling/Driller are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Well Drilling/Driller.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Well Drilling/Driller field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Well Drilling/Driller majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Well Drilling/Driller majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Well Drilling/Driller majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to set up, maintain, repair, and operate well drilling equipment; locate, drill, construct, and develop water, gas, and oil wells; and test and monitor wells to ensure adequate flow. Includes applications to home, business, and industrial uses
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Well Drilling/Driller.
CIP Code
46.0504 - Well Drilling/Driller
What the data shows
Men earned 0.0% of 7 Well Drilling/Driller completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $55,741. The largest mapped role by headcount is Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (5,310 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,162 in-state at public colleges and $14,343 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.