It's not clear that this is for roughnecks, specifically. Quite a few of my old colleagues who were field engineers on oil rigs are now software programmers --

It's not clear that this is for roughnecks, specifically. Quite a few of my old colleagues who were field engineers on oil rigs are now software programmers -- myself included. Most of us had to be above-average at windows administration just to keep our jobs and not get fired. When you're in the middle of nowhere with no ability to call/text/email and the computer on the oil rig doesn't work, it's really up to you to know how to fix the [networking]/[drivers]/[re-crimp wires]. A lot of the oil field workers hold degrees that required calculus, they should be able to transfer to entry level jobs in other knowledge-based careers quite well. Better for our economy than forcing them to be Uber drivers and bartenders. What's your suggestion for what society should do with oil workers? I'd imagine many roughnecks would transition just fine to hands-on labor jobs like solar panel installation, wind turbine maintenance, and communication tower work. Possibly quite a few roles in datacenters as well. Several of my friends climbed towers and my cousin runs a tower modification company - the habits/skills/necessary tendencies transfer fairly well. Obviously a good degree of re-training is necessary and the workers need to understand and accept that they'll be down-leveled when they enter a new industry.