Bill Patterson is general counsel and director of education for the American
Association of Professional Landmen. He says his organization currently has
6,600 to 6,800 members.
But he says there is almost no way to pin down the exact number of landmen
in the United States. "Over the past three or four years, there have been
a lot of landmen who have been forced to do other things or leave the profession,"
he says.
Petroleum landman Conner Smith says most landmen do not draw an annual
salary. Instead, they work on contract, earning between $200 and $350 a day,
depending on where in the U.S. they work.
High prices for natural oil and gas mean better job prospects for landmen.
That's because higher oil prices allow oil companies to pursue projects that
were not profitable before. Of course, if prices decline, so do job prospects.
The average working day for a petroleum landman can be spent either in
an office or out in the field. Landmen typically work 40-plus hours a week.
Frequent travel is part of the job description.
Earnings and employment information from the U.S. Department of Labor is
not available for this field at this time.