How To Become A Tool Pusher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tool pusher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average tool pusher salary is $154,062. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes more than 10 years of experience to become a tool pusher. Tool pushers with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 358,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTool PusherUS Average

Salary

9.0

Avg. Salary $154,062

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.6

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 1.44%

Black or African American 5.62%

Hispanic or Latino 24.05%

Unknown 3.89%

White 63.93%

Gender

female 2.81%

male 97.19%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.4

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.1

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tool pusher

Explore tool pusher education requirements

Most common tool pusher degrees

High School Diploma

65.5 %

Bachelor's

9.6 %

Diploma

9.1 %

Start to develop specific tool pusher skills

Skills	Percentages
CDL	11.34%
DOT	10.15%
Well Control	7.32%
Safety Procedures	7.12%
H2S	7.01%

Complete relevant tool pusher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tool pushers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tool pusher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tool pusher resumes.

Research tool pusher duties and responsibilities

Manage drilling operations for geotechnical drilling operations
Drill H2S and high gain/loss formations.
Operate power tongs and CRT running tools.
Drill directional, straight hole and H2S wells.

Prepare your tool pusher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tool pusher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tool pusher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Tool Pusher Resume templates

Build a professional Tool Pusher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Tool Pusher resume.

Apply for tool pusher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a tool pusher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do tool pushers rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Tool Pusher reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Pros

Its a challenging job where every day is a new day expecting an expected. Always able to try new things & approach to improve performance both in operation & Safety. Its a job which makes me feel alive and young everyday

Cons

Nothing apart from being away from my family for a long period of time