Tool · free, no account
Where is it easiest to open: Oil and Gas Field Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing
8 states, side by side. Operator counts and wages from Census and BLS; licence records matched on “SOC 17-2141” (soc) for Mechanical Engineers. A blank gate means NO RECORD MATCHED, which is not the same as no licence.
| State | Operators | Avg staff | Pay / employee | Gate | Licence titles matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TX | 280 | 57.6 | $97,407 | licence | ENGINEER, PROFESSIONAL; PODIATRIST |
| LA | 61 | 44.0 | $97,516 | exam | Engineer, Professional |
| OK | 47 | 32.5 | $74,233 | licence | Engineer Intern |
| CA | 14 | 16.3 | $64,667 | licence | Engineer In Training (E.I.T.); General Engineering Contractor |
| WY | 6 | 32.8 | $115,421 | exam | ENGINEER |
| CO | 6 | 24.8 | $97,020 | exam | Engineer Intern; Professional Engineer |
| ND | 3 | 21.7 | $85,000 | exam | Engineers |
| NM | 3 | 218.0 | $53,315 | exam | Engineering Intern Certification; Professional Engineers |
Axes are shown side by side and deliberately NOT collapsed into a ranking. A composite would be a score with no measured interval, and an unmeasured score is the thing this product exists to argue against. A high licence gate is a cost to enter and a moat once cleared — which of those matters more is the operator's call, not ours.
Licence data courtesy of CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Free to read, no account, always — a condition of the data licence as well as our own position.