- PPF Points
- 5,709
For adventure: drilling, commercial diver or even pilot for manned underwater vehicle (these are rare due to risk/complexity and the fact that ROVs carry out nearly any required underwater activity). Seismic survey can be pretty good too.
For adventure and money: blow out engineer, blow out specialist.
For money: rig surveyors for rig positioning, there are a few of them and get paid handsomely. The job is technical but they go offshore just a few days at the time.
For career/power: reservoir engineer. Most CEOs have a reservoir engineer (or economics) background, sometimes geology, probably with an MBA. Service companies pay often equally well, in some cases more, but in terms of power large oil companies are another level: reserves and production have political (internal and external) and often military implications as well.
Best effort/results ratio: petroleum geology is not nearly as hard as petroleum engineering, but some geologist make it up to the top, since they have a possibly even wider perspective of the business and may drive oil discoveries.
Best trade off money/risk/lifestyle: offshore production, there are a few roles that fits: production engineer, production supervisor, maintenance supervisor, etc. The risk are better known and mitigated than in other operational fields within the oil and gas industry, shifts (working hours) are hitches (equal time on/off) are regular and controlled, living conditions are way better than most other sites, and bonuses are typically higher.
The (relatively) easy career: being employed at the office for a national oil company (NOC) is a safer, less risky, and comparatively less competitive jobs over public oil operators or service companies. The perks vary greatly but usually you may have a comfortable life nearly anywhere comparing with most jobs. Having said that, with NOCs nowadays it is harder to get expat roles and if you are stuck in your home Country and never experience the perks and the adventure of the expat life... then what is the point? An oil & gas career is international by definition.
No doubt the real money is in incorporating and growing a service company, especially dealing with consultancy (engineering, geophysics, seismic processing) or equipment rental (civil works, logistics, downhole tools, waste treatment).
Please take these for what they are: general and biased ideas, not guidelines. The comments are true according to my own experience and judgement. Also, at the end of the day the factors that influence a career are others: background, connections, actual market conditions, expertise and skills, drive and personality, among others. Those are all more important than the line of work itself
For adventure and money: blow out engineer, blow out specialist.
For money: rig surveyors for rig positioning, there are a few of them and get paid handsomely. The job is technical but they go offshore just a few days at the time.
For career/power: reservoir engineer. Most CEOs have a reservoir engineer (or economics) background, sometimes geology, probably with an MBA. Service companies pay often equally well, in some cases more, but in terms of power large oil companies are another level: reserves and production have political (internal and external) and often military implications as well.
Best effort/results ratio: petroleum geology is not nearly as hard as petroleum engineering, but some geologist make it up to the top, since they have a possibly even wider perspective of the business and may drive oil discoveries.
Best trade off money/risk/lifestyle: offshore production, there are a few roles that fits: production engineer, production supervisor, maintenance supervisor, etc. The risk are better known and mitigated than in other operational fields within the oil and gas industry, shifts (working hours) are hitches (equal time on/off) are regular and controlled, living conditions are way better than most other sites, and bonuses are typically higher.
The (relatively) easy career: being employed at the office for a national oil company (NOC) is a safer, less risky, and comparatively less competitive jobs over public oil operators or service companies. The perks vary greatly but usually you may have a comfortable life nearly anywhere comparing with most jobs. Having said that, with NOCs nowadays it is harder to get expat roles and if you are stuck in your home Country and never experience the perks and the adventure of the expat life... then what is the point? An oil & gas career is international by definition.
No doubt the real money is in incorporating and growing a service company, especially dealing with consultancy (engineering, geophysics, seismic processing) or equipment rental (civil works, logistics, downhole tools, waste treatment).
Please take these for what they are: general and biased ideas, not guidelines. The comments are true according to my own experience and judgement. Also, at the end of the day the factors that influence a career are others: background, connections, actual market conditions, expertise and skills, drive and personality, among others. Those are all more important than the line of work itself
