doodlebugger

Term for field seismic personnel. Differentiated from a roughneck by their actual coarseness and ability to really kick your ass. Doodlebuggers search out oil, natural gas, and other precious commodities the world around by exciting the ground with explosives, drop weights, and more often than not pieces of specialized heavy equipment called *cough* vibrators. They work in the most extreme climates, brave the most dangerous countries, and suffer some of the worst wages in the oil and gas industry. Most importantly, doodlebuggers are renowned for their ability to drink massive amounts of alcohol without dying and to find hookers in any city, village or hamlet in the world. Doodlebuggers often work in camps in the middle of nowhere, and are rarely seen in their natural environment. Easily identified by their pot bellies and lack of shaving. They tell the BEST stories.

My father was a "doodlebugger" in the 40's and 50's. He was a respectable and clean shaven man.
Nor was he a drunk or over weight. Never drank or smoked. I can't speak for the men he worked with.
But I do know this for sure for my father. I have witnessed other oil field workers to be the same, and maybe few and far between, but should not be judged as so and thrown all in the same group.
His job turned out to be very respectable and lucrative career for him.

A Doodlebugger is someone who works on an oil exploration crew. The term "Doodlebugger" has been used since the 1940s in the United States. Workers on seismograph crews (oil exploration crews) call themselves "Juggies". Some female workers call themselves "Juggettes".