What Is A Roustabout? Oil Rig Jobs North Dakota

A roustabout is generally an unskilled laborer who performs basic manual labor. Roustabouts are often temporary workers. These workers are generally new, and unskilled to semi-skilled.


A roustabout is a temporary worker who performs basic manual labor. These unskilled to semi-skilled workers can be found in a number of industries providing valuable labor as needed by employers. The term “roustabout” in the sense of a manual laborer appears to date to 1860s America, with a variation on the term, “rouseabout,” being used to refer to temporary manual laborers in Australian English.

Originally, this term was used in reference to boat and dockworkers along the Mississippi, and roustabouts can still be found working as boat and dockworkers in many regions of the world. Someone performing this type of work helps with loading and unloading, managing ships and boats, warehouse security, and so forth. He or she may belong to a union which coordinates labor in a particular port or region, and many roustabouts can find steady work as long as they are skilled, thanks to the continuous flow of cargo of all sorts around the world.

Roustabouts can also be found working at oil drilling facilities, including offshore platforms and oil fields. Roustabouts and roughnecks are entry level workers who perform basic maintenance and other tasks, with the potential to become long-term employees of the oil company. Working in this position in an oil drilling facility can be grueling and very dangerous, but for people who are willing to stick it out and become long-term employees, the compensation can be very good.