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  6. Water Well Drillers

Exploring Trades and Occupations

Water Well Drillers

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2024-2028
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

These individuals dig and test wells that supply water to homes, businesses, and industrial facilities.

Environment

  • Climatic conditions
  • Equipment, machinery, tools
  • Humidity
  • Noise
  • Vibration

Main tasks

  • Dig, drill, and test wells.
  • Review customer requests and proposed well locations.
  • Ensure equipment operation.
  • Install well accessories (screens, liners, etc.).
  • Document the geological formations discovered.
  • Clean and disinfect wells before they are put into service.
  • Install, test, repair, and maintain pumps, piping, and equipment.
  • Evaluate well performance by conducting pumping tests.
  • Provide other drilling services (repair or disassembly of water well structures), as required.

Advancement and mobility

  • These individuals may specialize in a specific drilling method (cable, hammer, reverse circulation, etc.).
  • There is some mobility between the different jobs in this group.
  • Experience leads to supervisory positions.

Hourly wage

Not available.

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2023

All of Québec

50

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
0% Female
100% Male

Not available.
  • 0% Female
  • 100% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2020

All of Québec

$60,000

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for women
  • None

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for women
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Construction
    NAICS 23
    69% of jobs
  2. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  3. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  4. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  5. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  6. Others
    0% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Construction
    NAICS 23
    69% of jobs
  2. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  3. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  4. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  5. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    31% of jobs
  6. Others
    0% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

No specific training

Sometimes required

  • A secondary school diploma is usually required.

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Monitoring operations
  • Operations and control
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Critical thought
  • Result evaluation
  • Quality control analysis
  • Coordination
  • Troubleshooting
  • Active listening
  • Oral expression
  • Solving complex problems
  • Equipment selection
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Control accuracy
  • Limb coordination
  • Hand-arm stability
  • Reaction time
  • Manual dexterity
  • Depth perception
  • Speed control
  • Near vision
  • Perception speed
  • Oral comprehension
  • Information organization
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Hearing sensitivity
  • Awareness of issues
  • Distance vision
  • Visualization
  • Digital dexterity
  • Colour perception and distinction
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Auditory attention
  • Selective attention
  • Speech clarity
  • Written comprehension
  • Written expression
  • Verbal skills
  • Processing flexibility
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Critical thinking
  • Focussed on results
  • Autonomy
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Versatility
  • Rigour
  • Respect standards and regulations
  • Sense of observation
  • Knowledge of buildings and construction
  • Knowledge of physics

Interests

  • Make, build, install
  • Work manually
  • Develop and exploit natural resources
  • Work outdoors

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Conventional
People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Social
People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Additional information

Official name of the NOC 72501

Water well drillers

Job titles

  • Water well driller
  • Cable tool driller - water well drilling
  • Churn drill operator - water well drilling
  • Water well drilling technician
  • Apprentice water well driller
  • Journeyman/woman water well driller
More Less job titles

Skill type

Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations

Related occupations

  • Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
  • Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers
  • Underground production and development miners

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi

See also

Non traditional

Hats Off to You!

Last update: January 29, 2026

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