Looking for a job in oil and gas, anyone?

[Lancie1]

I think the I&C Enginneering would be best (of the 2 choices).

 

[strantor]

I know I'm replying to old information, but hopefully my reply is still relevant, since the discussion has been revived and apprently you haven't found what you were looking for...

I heard that NOV (National Oilwell Varco) takes a lot of trainee. Have you heard of them?

YES! THIS! Have you applied with NOV? NOV was the first company I worked for when I got out of the Navy. They are who trained me first in PLC/VFD/etc. misc industrial electronic/electrical stuff.

They are an excellent company to work for. I was extremely lucky with NOV; in all the right places at all the right times, and always managed to shine the brightest right when I needed to. Usually when you hire on with NOV as a field service tech, they send you through 2-6months of in-house training (even Canadians - they will fly you down to houston and put you up in a condo for the duration of the school) and then you go work land rigs for a few years to prove yourself before they will consider sending you out of country or offshore. I completed my training as a Top Drive FST and they didn't have anywhere to put me at the time, so they sent me to Singapore to help commission a Top Drive as a 3 week long OJT exercise. When I got to singapore and reported to the rig, top drive wasn't there. So I started following the Controls Engineers around and bugging them. They would send me on B.S. go-fer missions and such, until they realized that I was of use, and then I was climbing the derrick, and down to the mud pump room, simulating I/O and such. Before the 3 weeks was up, they were letting me go online with PLCs and even make some supervised programming changes. When the 3 weeks came around, I was balls deep and the the controls engineers called back to Houston and requested I stay on continue helping for another 3 weeks. And again, and again. I ended up spending 15 weeks on that rig, and in that small time had gained enough proficiency with Siemens PLCs that when I finally made it back to Houston, they immediately moved me to the Controls Division. Controls Division didn't know me, or have any local work for me that they thought I could handle solo, so they kicked me back to the training division. Training division didn't have anything for me, so they sent me on another international OJT mission to Korea, where same story happened and I was there for 3 months. When I got back training division sent me to Alberta for jet another OJT. And then transferred me back to Controls Division, which upon actually looking at my record this time, put me in their so-called "international group." I was working on getting my Brazilian Visa so that I could go spend a few month of on-site First Well Support on the rig that I helped commission in Singapore. That's when I had to leave the company due to a personal family emergency. I shot straight to the top - the creme of the crop - in less than a year; something that takes most guys the better half of a decade to accomplish. Most of it was just being in the right place at the right time as I said, and my results are not typical, but the moral of the story is that at NOV, if you're a "hard-charging self-starter" you can do great things, and make lots of money, and you can do it without a degree. They take care of their people.

P.s. They only pay like $15-$19 depending on experience, but you can make a lot more than you would think after rig bonus, hazard pay, per diem; it adds up fast. I made $92K in that one year, at $15/hr. It took a lot of 16hr/day, 7days/wk months to do it though.

Alberta and North Dakota are by far the fastest growing oil and gas developments in the world.

Having talked to guys who worked in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.... if I held a Canadian passport I would head straight for Alberta.

+1
Oil is huge in Alberta and it's a great place to enter the game. Probably on par or better than Asia. You're already Canadian so why not go out there? And NOV is all over the place in Alberta too.

 

[mitureg]

Thank you Lancie. I had a reply from a recruitment agency that backs up what you are saying:

Not a lot of difference but if I was forced to choose I think it would be slightly easier to get a role with HNC in Instrumentation and Control but any differences would be marginal.

The only thing is that these two certificate are almost the same with the exception of one module (I am doing these course in distance learning). My partial conclusions as of now is that they are a bit interchangeable and depends much more on what's on your resume with it.

 

[mitureg]

Thank you for you reply strantor, it was really nice to read your experience.

I am not a graduate yet, I have sent my resume to several agency, but with no prior working experience, it's hard to get noticed.

Usually when you hire on with NOV as a field service tech, they send you through 2-6months of in-house training (even Canadians - they will fly you down to houston and put you up in a condo for the duration of the school) and then you go work land rigs for a few years to prove yourself before they will consider sending you out of country or offshore.

Have you ever heard of anybody being able to fly with his family in one of those condo? I'm married, I plan to be away several months a year, but if possible for multiple months at a time, I would bring my wife with me.

Training division didn't have anything for me, so they sent me on another international OJT mission to Korea,

I heard from a HAYS publication that Korea is very big right now; going to be the next shipyard center in Asia pretty soon... "Korean ship yards seek to
monopolise vessel and rig fabrication work"

I shot straight to the top - the creme of the crop - in less than a year; something that takes most guys the better half of a decade to accomplish.

Very inspiring and encouraging indeed!

Oil is huge in Alberta and it's a great place to enter the game. Probably on par or better than Asia. You're already Canadian so why not go out there?

I am a Canadian expat. I am not too sure of going back to the country. I have since come to like living in Asia. I am married to an Asian woman. But you know, I gotta do what I gotta do, if things showed up good for me in Alberta I think I would take my chance.

Your post is much appreciated.
Cheers

 

[strantor]

I am not a graduate yet, I have sent my resume to several agency, but with no prior working experience, it's hard to get noticed.

Well, I didn't (don't) have a degree. NOV didn't care. I thought my military experience landed me the job, but when I started my classes, I asked my classmates about their backgrounds and ~1/3 of them were fresh ex-military like me, 1/3 had associates degrees or certs of some kind, and the other 1/3 had zero qualification at all. I went to school with an ex-Icecream truck driver, true story. But he's a successful FST now. I guess NOV analyzed the training, qualification, & retention issues and decided that the most profitable solution is not to invest a lot of time & effort on the front end searching out "qualified" people who may or may not be as good as they say they are, have the experience and training that they claim to have, or might have other good but not applicable skill, but to instead hire and train large numbers of "blank slates", and let the low hanging fruit hang themselves along the way. We did have a lot of guys wash out before the training was over.

Have you ever heard of anybody being able to fly with his family in one of those condo? I'm married, I plan to be away several months a year, but if possible for multiple months at a time, I would bring my wife with me.

No, that's on you. If you want to be with your family you're going to need to get your own place because usually you're going to sharing a condo or hotel with another dude (separate rooms, of course). While you're in training it might be worth it since that's 8hr days, but when you're on location, 16hr days, your wife is going to be doing what?

I heard from a HAYS publication that Korea is very big right now; going to be the next shipyard center in Asia pretty soon... "Korean ship yards seek to
monopolise vessel and rig fabrication work"

I was in Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard on Geoje Island. It's a big place. I bet if they build another like that, they will be well on their way to a monopoly.

I am a Canadian expat. I am not too sure of going back to the country. I have since come to like living in Asia. I am married to an Asian woman. But you know, I gotta do what I gotta do, if things showed up good for me in Alberta I think I would take my chance.

Your post is much appreciated.
Cheers

I'm married to an Asian too. Met her in Korea, but she's from the Philippines; she's been back here in Texas with me for a few years now, after a year+ of immigration B.S. Where's your wife from?

 

[mitureg]

I guess NOV analyzed the training, qualification, & retention issues and decided that the most profitable solution is not to invest a lot of time & effort on the front end searching out "qualified" people who may or may not be as good as they say they are, have the experience and training that they claim to have, or might have other good but not applicable skill, but to instead hire and train large numbers of "blank slates", and let the low hanging fruit hang themselves along the way. We did have a lot of guys wash out before the training was over.

That would make sense. It seems to be a good business practice, given that people without much qualification will work harder for a fraction of the salary. Sad but true.

While you're in training it might be worth it since that's 8hr days, but when you're on location, 16hr days, your wife is going to be doing what?

How does one metabolism can keep up working 16 hours a day 7 days a week, is beyond me. How do you explain that? Is it really possible for a person that has a normal energy drive to keep up with such pressure? Is it a common practice for people to use drugs or supplements to keep up with the long working hours under stressful conditions?

I was in Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard on Geoje Island. It's a big place. I bet if they build another like that, they will be well on their way to a monopoly.

Yeah it looks like Samsung is well on its way to get a monopoly on a lot of things. All that money for research has to come from somewhere, I guess the energy sector is one part of their portfolio I didn't think of. I will definitely have a look.

I'm married to an Asian too. Met her in Korea, but she's from the Philippines; she's been back here in Texas with me for a few years now, after a year+ of immigration B.S. Where's your wife from?

My wife is from Java, we met over the internet about 8 years ago. I came here just to get married and be with her (aww, how foolish, hehe!). Most of my revenue come from e-business but I decided to add more strings to my bow while I have the opportunity.

I have been thinking a lot since yesterday, sending email back and forth with an agency guy. He basically said the following:

Regarding career advancement & salary the deciding factor will not necessarily be reliant on which qualification you have (little difference) but more on your own individual performance, ability, drive & application.

At this stage in your career you can't expect to be able to look into a crystal ball & say if I do this course or that it will work out this way. I suggest you are better to decide where your interest & passion is strongest as this will better serve you in helping to choose a career path that you will find enjoyable & rewarding. People tend to perform better when they are doing something they like / are passionate about.

Words of wisdom, indeed!

I come to realize that I have a better understanding with the Instrument & Control branch than the Electronic & Electric one. I don't know it seems just more tangible to me working with Control and Calibration in production. Working with a computer makes more sense to me. On the other hand, Electronic & Electrical engineering seems a bit wide.

At this stage I will do a program transfer from Electronic & Electrical Engineering to Instrumentation & Control Engineering HNC.

Any thoughts on this are welcomed.

Much appreciated.
Cheers.

 

[mitureg]

One thing I forgot to mention is that I do notice most people suggest me to find a job in my own country (Canada), gain experience, THEN I will be able to work abroad.

This is not what I intend to do. Has anybody been successful launching a new career as a trainee abroad rather then in their own country first?

I am located in Asia, near Singapore. I am open to relocation within Asia and for trips in the middle east.

Cheers.

 

[Temper]

This thread has really piqued my interest. I'm an industrial electrician in a sawmill in Canada, but I'd love to find a job in Asia, as I'm also married to an Asian woman. I've been tempted to head to the Alberta oil fields, but being 5 minutes from home has it's advantages.

NOV looks interesting. You really make it sound like a good company to work for Strantor.

 

[strantor]

How does one metabolism can keep up working 16 hours a day 7 days a week, is beyond me. How do you explain that? Is it really possible for a person that has a normal energy drive to keep up with such pressure? Is it a common practice for people to use drugs or supplements to keep up with the long working hours under stressful conditions?

16hrs 7 days a week isn't a cake walk, but it's not as hard as you would think. a lot of guys do get burnt out rather quickly, hence the usual "rotation," but when working I&C (Install & commission), the rotation is optional whereas when working offshore I believe it is mandatory. You get used to it, and lots of guys still find time to party while working that schedule. When every day is a monday, every day is also a friday, and many treat it as such; coming in to work hung over on a tuesday or nearly every day. If anybody around was on drugs, I wasn't aware of it.

 

[diat150]

P.s. They only pay like $15-$19 depending on experience

thats really low pay for oilfield, and especially low for overseas.

 

[strantor]

thats really low pay for oilfield, and especially low for overseas.

Agreed, but it's a starting point. Kinda like credit. You need experience to get a job and you need a job to get experience. I don't know of anywhere else that will pay you to train you for 6 months. After a year at NOV I was getting job offers for $30+/hr. Funny, that's about what I'mmaking now, but not in the oil & gas sector, and I have yet to hit that 92k in a year again since I left NOV. Like I said, rig bonus, hazard pay, and per diem add up if you stay in the field.

 

[mitureg]

Agreed, but it's a starting point. Kinda like credit. You need experience to get a job and you need a job to get experience. I don't know of anywhere else that will pay you to train you for 6 months. After a year at NOV I was getting job offers for $30+/hr.

Thank you Strantor. I make sense.