[Swagger]

(11-09-2012 02:33 PM)pants Wrote:  

I can see some people try to find offshore work in norway.

As a norwegian in the same position i can tell you its not very easy without experience and relevant education.

I am a graduate mechanical engineer with no experience, average grades, and I've been in touch with a lot of companies, and I've got no work yet.

But motivation is still high. I know norway has good safety, offshore you are 14 days on then 28 days off, as an engineer your probably making 200 000USD a year.

Oh i really want one of those jobs..

Tips I got so far is get some experience onshore, then you are in a good position to get offshore.

Here's my take, unless you are a petro engineer, the chances of making 200K are pretty slim There is a demand for other disciplines but I believe none of them are as high paying. Glassdoor.com, which is pretty reliable puts entry level petro engineers at 90 K at places like Chevron and shell in the Texas area. I am an env engineer in the US who is looking to change things up a bit. I am looking at opportunities in the Alberta area. Anyone in the corporate side of things please feel free to chip in. I am almost inclined to go back to school and get a Masters but I hate taking standardized tests such as the GRE and going through the application process. A school like Austin is pretty reputable.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engi...money.html

[Vicious]

I've mentioned this elsewhere on the board. Is there' any interest for Lean Production in the petro industry? I hold made certs in this.

[pants]

That might be the case in the us. But from engineers working offshore in Norway, engineers with lack of experience makes around 200k usd. With experience and responsibilities, 300 is also common.

And you gonna need it. They say it's the most expensive country in the world. And you have to pay 50% tax.

[Swagger]

I have a friend from Tennessee who is a PhD in Mechanical engineering and works in Stavenger in the Oil and gas industry. Let me know if you want me to put you in touch with him.

[pants]

Thanks, i might take you up on that offer later.
But for now i keep up the dialogue with a few other companies I am in touch with.

[Santoro]

Ali, or anyone with diving experience,

While pouring through the oil threads I saw that you have experience in technical diving. I'm AAUS science diving certified (http://www.aaus.org/), and wondering if that is worth anything in the oil industry, or if I need a true technical diving license.

My masters degree is in Oceanography, undergrad in math & physics. Is there a way I can position myself into a geologist/engineer/surveyor role with this kind of background?

[rudebwoy]

@ Vicious - are you a master black belt?

[lobsterback]

New to the forum but I should be able to provide some insight into the oil and gas industry that I haven't seen in the thread so far.

I've been scoping out the industry for a year or so, networking and talking primarily with established engineers and managers in downstream operations. The consensus is that there currently is and will continue to be a big demand for entry level engineers in the big refining players as many managers hit retirement age. I've heard the downstream sector in particular referred to as an "old boys club" and seems to have been fairly exclusive for the last couple of decades, causing a squeeze on the availability of entry level positions. This makes for a pretty optimistic outlook on the upwards career mobility of anyone entering the sector with a professional degree. Maybe I'm partly optimistic about the sector for personal reasons, but the price differential between US domestic crude and world crude is presenting huge opportunity to enter and grow within the industry.

As far as myself, I'm finishing my final year at a large state university's chemical engineering department and just accepted a process engineering position at a local refinery (100 MBD) owned by a big oil company to begin in July/August. No lie, salary is up there with the best a bachelor's can get you, I'll be making $90k base. So if any of my fellow youngsters love math and science and don't mind busting their asses for 4 years of college, this is the way to go. Jobs are competitive and as a college student you really have to interface with in-state recruiters, but if the end result is an engineering role in a hugely profitable industry the extra effort is totally worth it. No need for PE or PhD, they're rarely found in refineries.

Obviously I can't comment on the work itself yet but I'll continue to contribute as I get experience, and am able to pass on anything else I've learned about the downstream sector.

[renotime]

Lake Charles LA is about to be the next boom town in the next year.

[elabayarde]

why u say that reno

[villageindian]

Not just Lake Charles but the whole of Texas and Louisiana in the next 5 years compared to the rest of US. Lots of new projects coming up and there is a huge shortage of skilled labor (e.g. welders, pipe fitters etc..). It is estimated that construction of all these plants would require about 50,000 skilled workers, excluding maintenance workers, at the 2015–16 peak.

Because I work in the industry, we have looked at these estimates and we think that at least 20,000 temporary jobs will need to be there during the peak for the largest plants there. Given the shale gas growth in the US, there is a lot of talk on exporting this gas and forming chemicals from the gas. Hence, a lot of projects are coming up in the next 5 years.

[Aliblahba]

(12-06-2013 12:41 PM)Montana Wrote:  

Art Berman believes we have maybe 4-5 years left at the Eagle Ford and the Bakken maybe 3-5 years. That is before peak.

I can't explain how important is to you guys to jump in a boom while its going on. In my adult life, the 1st was software and semi-conductors. Dudes from my camp went out to Silicon Valley to bank $80-$100K, back in 1998-2000. Then the economy slowed. In that time period other industries were dormant, and hard to break into, like defense and oil/gas.

Next boom was the ME. Iraq/Afghan kicked off and it was a gold rush. I rode that cash cow like a two bit whore. That lasted until last year. During that time ('05) Katrina hit and it was easy as fuck to break into offshore work. They were hiring felons at $18 hr. Now the defense industry is dead, but oil/gas/energy is alive and well in the GOM, Texas, ND, and W Pennsylvania.

Don't wait until the competition is fierce to land a job, jump in the first waves and gain experience in anything and everything you can. When you ride out the boom, those skills you stacked will carry over the next boom, and the money you banked will fuel some great overseas trips.

Things in the industry are looking up for the next few years, so get it while the getting is good. You'll regret it. Don't lay down roots. Stay nomadic. Its what players do best anyways. If you get burned out, stay somewhere for awhile, like around family if you want. It takes a little work, but you can strike that balance.

[Cattle Rustler]

(12-22-2013 03:37 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(12-06-2013 12:41 PM)Montana Wrote:  

Art Berman believes we have maybe 4-5 years left at the Eagle Ford and the Bakken maybe 3-5 years. That is before peak.

I can't explain how important is to you guys to jump in a boom while its going on. In my adult life, the 1st was software and semi-conductors. Dudes from my camp went out to Silicon Valley to bank $80-$100K, back in 1998-2000. Then the economy slowed. In that time period other industries were dormant, and hard to break into, like defense and oil/gas.

Next boom was the ME. Iraq/Afghan kicked off and it was a gold rush. I rode that cash cow like a two bit whore. That lasted until last year. During that time ('05) Katrina hit and it was easy as fuck to break into offshore work. They were hiring felons at $18 hr. Now the defense industry is dead, but oil/gas/energy is alive and well in the GOM, Texas, ND, and W Pennsylvania.

Don't wait until the competition is fierce to land a job, jump in the first waves and gain experience in anything and everything you can. When you ride out the boom, those skills you stacked will carry over the next boom, and the money you banked will fuel some great overseas trips.

Things in the industry are looking up for the next few years, so get it while the getting is good. You'll regret it. Don't lay down roots. Stay nomadic. Its what players do best anyways. If you get burned out, stay somewhere for awhile, like around family if you want. It takes a little work, but you can strike that balance.

Texas Monthly (magazine) just publish a long ass (60 page approx) article on the Texas Oil Boom. What does this mean? A lot of Average Joes will try to get in....but only a few of them will be successful.

The oil boom is starting to leak to the masses.

[Screwston]

The oil industry isn't a secret to Texans. I doubt the magazine is gonna do anything.

[Vicious]

(12-11-2013 05:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

@ Vicious - are you a master black belt?

That's six sigma. I'm a Lean Champion.

[Cattle Rustler]

(12-22-2013 07:11 PM)houston Wrote:  

The oil industry isn't a secret to Texans. I doubt the magazine is gonna do anything.

It is to those not in the oil industry (dallas is not as oil-focused like houston). There's the magazine article, TV segments, news articles....it keeps getting more and more exposure. Dick Perry will probably make an ad bragging about it and bring more foreigners (out of texas) to the state.

[txtraveler]

If any of you could get a job as a Petroleum Landman, I'd recommend it. It's not easy to get it, but once you get in and get the experience, you can make A LOT of money. I make really good money. I also get paid mileage, per diem, and I get paid back on rent. Have an S corp and will have lots of right offs.

[Aliblahba]

^^^ Get me a job as a landman and I'll give a rep point AND a McDouble!

[txtraveler]

(12-23-2013 11:00 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

^^^ Get me a job as a landman and I'll give a rep point AND a McDouble!

Where are you located? It's extremely hard to get into this in Texas. There are companies out there that do hire people with no experience, but a lot of the times they want locals. If you were willing to go to ND/OH/PA, there is much more chance of you finding a job. You'll be a contractor and have no benefits. That's the norm.
Get on linkedin and join some O&G groups, like the landman group, oil and gas jobs, abstracting/title type groups.
Check out landmen .net for available jobs.
http://www.landman.org/ Sign up for this and take the class...you need a certain amount of experience or a 4 year degree to become and RL. The website has link to look for jobs there as well.
landmen .net is probably the best bet for looking for jobs without experience. If you have other O&G experience that will help to. That's how I initially got into being a Landman/Abstractor.

I don't have enough pull to get someone into the industry without experience.

[pants]

Funny reading a one year old thread of me looking for a job.

I can now say; I work in oil and gas.

[Screwston]

I want one of those x ray jobs. Dudes would sit in the truck for 99% of the day and not lift a damn thing when they used the machines.

[urbannomad]

What's the best advice for inexperienced welder to get in the Oil & Gas industry ?

[elabayarde]

WTF is the deal with offshore. Its like the mythical magical other side of oil, noone onshore(where I work) knows anything about.

[DjembaDjemba]

I work quite a few people who did and still do off-shore work. It's not the greatest work. Shared rooms, small confined spaces, long periods on the barge (up to a year), helicoptered in and out, all male environment (that's fine, but not for 6-12 months straight).

In the gulf of Mexico there's quite a few platforms. If you've got a few technical tickets you could jump on. Right now with the boom on-shore offshore isn't the most appealing. If things start hurting here though, it's always an option. Especially with Arctic drilling soon to kick off.

[Kdog]

I think the best off shore jobs are the 28/28 rotation where you work only 6 months of the year. Some positions you even get a salary for the 28 days off. A lot of guys live it up in Thailand on their month off while making $10k during their month on. But yeah it's definitely the harder side to get into unless as Djemba said you have some tickets and experience.