Roughneck - $46,867

Roughneck
Average pay: $46,867

Working 12-hour shifts underneath a drilling rig is no cakewalk. Drilling goes on even in the worst weather conditions, the rig’s engine blares so loudly that crew members communicate with hand signals, and the air swirls with dust and chemicals. Roughnecks get stuck with the dirtiest, and most dangerous, grunt work of all, for instance, changing hot drill bits and connecting new sections of pipe. The cash-rich oil industry is strapped for good workers though, so they’ll pay up to $100,000 for specialized or supervisory positions.