Roustabout Wages: What Do Roustabout Workers Earn?

One of the gray area questions that can be difficult to answer about roustabout jobs is the popular: how much does a roustabout make? The problem here is that if given an hourly wage the job might sound like a rip off when comparing work to per hour income, but people forget that when you work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week and often two or three weeks in a row before getting a week off on leave, the overtime adds up extremely quickly. This is the same way many summer jobs work in Alaska: they’re not lucrative per hour but the sheer amount of hours required and overtime earned makes them desirable.

When you break it down per hour, the average roustabout job is going to pay between $10 and $15 an hour. Where the advantage comes in is with the 84 hour work weeks which results not only in a ton of hours worked, but also with over half of them getting paid overtime rates of time and a half. Because of this, many roustabouts will make close to $50,000 or $60,000 a year and that can come from only working a 6 or 8 month contract. Obviously more experienced and skilled workers will get a higher pay, and the annual income will vary greatly based on the type and frequency of breaks and the amount of total months actually worked.

While the starting pay of $10 to $15 an hour isn’t unusual, a roustabout with years of experience or who learns enough about the job to get promoted above entry level can end up making a lot more. Managers and supervisors will make an even higher amount and there are even specialists who can make double that if they learn how to use the cranes and other special equipment that is going to be found on every off shore rig.

It’s important to note that even with roustabout jobs, some of the same pressures apply that other mob markets face. Some jobs simply pay more than others whether it’s due to worse weather conditions (imagine working off the shore of Alaska in winter for this one) or potential safety issues (Africa). As with other markets, the more dangerous or harder it is to get someone to fill in a job, the more that job is going to pay. While all roustabout jobs pay extremely well for unskilled labor work, some places are going to pay a lot more than others.

The hardest part for many is getting their foot in the door as roustabout jobs are extremely popular because of the high pay that can be earned, and the added built in bonus that you’ll be working so much you won’t be able to spend the money. This gives the pay a feeling of an added savings benefit, and makes it much easier to take advantage of the high pay of roustabout jobs to build up a savings or retirement account even if you do start on the low end of the roustabout pay scale.