I left the rig back in September of 2022. I was driving across the U.S. every 2 weeks. Decided to take a local job. I was laid off from it in June of this year. I have probably turned in 200 applications since, trying to get back into this industry. Companies are posting hiring ads like crazy, I’m applying immediately, calling them, emailing them, and I just can’t get a response. Sometimes I get an occasional rejection email. The only advice I ever get is “try North Dakota.” Or “so and so is hiring.” I apply, and I get nothing. I attended a hiring event a few months ago, thought it went well, but I never heard back. Is anyone else in the same boat? Desperately wanting to get back in but feeling hopeless?

Howdy! I’m going to be starting as a FOP at Halliburton in January. Is there any advice y’all could give me before I start?

I’m located about 8 hours away so I’ll be living in the man camps while I’m down there. Is there anything I should plan on bringing?

I don’t know much about the oil and gas industry so I am a little nervous. Is the training pretty thorough and is there anything I should be doing now to prep?

Appreciate the help!

Curious if anyone has worked for Pembina pipeline as a field op? Wondering if it would be boring since they have no actual oil wells just pipelines

I wanted to first thank you all for reading this, it's a lot more than everyone reading my applications is doing lol. I wanted to know does anyone know of way for me to start in either the oilfields or offshore. I'm willing to do the work, and ready for the adventure I'm Based in Arkansas but Im willing to go as far as Anchorage Alaska to get into a better situation. I'm in the sort of Position where, I can be away from home months at a time. I'm desperate to the point, I'll give a $100 Finders fee to anyone who can get me a job. It's not much but I would really appreciate any assisstance!

Sharing this link, was going to post here but this community doesn’t allow photos (understandable).

https://www.reddit.com/r/petroleumengineers/s/HDCrwIPWpQ

I've got a job as a shop hand for a well servicing company. I'd like a future as a heavy duty mechanic.

Is being nose blind a potential safety issue? I'm not fully nose blind, but I have a highly reduced ability to smell.

I know there is some gases that you have to detect by smelling, so that you know to evacuate the area. I'm wondering if I should wear a gas monitor 100% of the time when working.

I just work in the shop right now, but there's gases in the shop. The welder has gases for his cutting torches, I forget what those gases are.

Is being nose blind a safety issue? Does the safe work procedure already have written rules on being nose blind? I work in Alberta.

What’s everyone’s preferred shift 14 on 14 off or 7 on and 7 off both 12 hours days and home every night. Also have kids at home

I’ve been doing a lot of research about working on oil rigs and what not and decided it’d be a good career for me. I just turned 21 and I have no prior experience working on any sort of oil rig but I’ve been doing residential plumbing, industrial plumbing/pipefitting for almost 4 years I don’t mind it but I want something that’s gets me away from Massachusetts and gets me more hours. The beginner wages for roughnecks looks promising, if someone with experience can point me in the right direction it’d be great.

Hey guys, just wanted some insight on whether It is worth applying for Finance related roles in oil industry within the USA. I've heard people say its very difficult to attain the TN visa for jobs outside of the usual category of Engineering, healthcare etc.

Quick summary of my background; I am a business graduate currently working as a risk analyst at a reputable oil and gas company here in Calgary. Previously also worked in midstream, and at a major trade shop (think trafi, vitol) so collectively I've got around 4 years of solid experience.

My issue is every time I apply for a role based in Houston (for example) on Linkedin, I immediately get sent a rejection letter. Is there a specific way I should be approaching the application process for jobs based in the US?

Any help/guidance would be much appreciated.

Just curious what your experiences have been like with scheduling working offshore. Specifically in the gulf. From what I’ve seen 14/14 or similar rotations seem common. I’ve never done rotational work and I’m pretty new to the industry.

Have your schedules been consistent with the original job description? Have you been you asked to stay longer often? Or have your schedules changed often? Would this be more or less common depending on role for example a floorhand vs driller?

Hey! Many months ago I made a comment that I was an alumni of the program on this subreddit. Since then, I’ve gotten 4-5 people reach out interested, so I wanted to drop an informational post for everyone (I don’t benefit monetarily from promoting this program I swear)

I also figured this post would be appropriate for this forum- a large part of the program consists of people who studied engineering, and they are often some of the most successful alumni.

Program length- 1.5 to 2 years (30 credit hours)

Program structure- You have the opportunity to take econometrics electives and economics electives in the mining and energy space. Some examples are Metals and Mining Markets, Economics of Energy and Mining, and Time Series Econometrics, with special focus on energy and other commodity data. There are some business classes too, with a personal favorite being Economic Evaluation and Investment Decision Methods. We also have a new course dedicated to commodity trading. It’s worth mentioning- you are allowed to transfer up to 15 credit hours from other graduate programs, either at mines or already taken elsewhere.

Example workplaces of alumni: Morgan Stanley, World Bank, J.P. Morgan, Newmont Mining, Rio Tinto, Vale, Vitol, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co., the CIA, Stantec, Caterpillar, BMO Capital Markets, Cannacord Genuity, ING, Resource Capital Finance, Xcel Energy, Point 72, Citi, S&P Global, Rystad Energy, Wood Mackenzie, BNP Paribas, Oxy, SSR, Google, Wolverine Fuels, starting their own firms, etc.

Alumni have also worked in public service. Top of my head, I’ve seen alumni working for the USGS, the US Department of Energy (including their labs Argonne, NREL, and Sandia), the U.S. Army, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. EPA, as well as many other foreign government roles.

Degrees achievable: Master of Science and PhD PhDs are fully funded, masters students are funded when available. Total time to complete the PhD is 4 years. There is also the opportunity to earn a dual masters in Energy Technology Economics and Management at IFP in Paris.

Students pursuing further education have ended up in programs such as the JD programs at Denver, Lewis and Clark and Texas- Austin, in PhD programs in economics at other universities, University of Arizona’s Mining Engineering masters, and at Yale’s MBA program.

There are opportunities to work part time as a grader or doing research with either the Payne Institute of Public Policy or the Critical Minerals Institute.

Please reach out if you have any comments!

Anyone on here work for them? What’s it like for a field tech position? I see they’re hiring in OKC considering seeing what it’s about. What’s start pay? Typical rotation?

New to Reddit and new to following the oil and gas industry. I have always had a curiosity and interest in oil and exploration and the logistics and processes involved. A little background- I grew up a farm kid (which I still farm and ranch on the side). I graduated from a Land Grant university with a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy. I worked in equipment sales for 7+ years up until 2022. I now own and operate my own business in the seed and chemical industry. To be blunt, I’ve realized there’s more out there in the world then farming and agriculture and the oil industry seems to peak my interest around every corner. My question is- with my agriculture background, sales and business experience, and degree, is there anything in the oil and gas industry that would be a fit or even qualify considering I have very little experience or exposure in oil and gas? Thank you in advanced and I look forward to any advice or comments.

I am green as hell so pardon me if this is a stupid question. What kinds of oil field jobs don't deal with heights? I am a hard worker but have an irrational fear of heights.

I don't plan on working a drilling or service rig, I have been advised against that. I am more interested in wireline. Do wireline workers have to deal with heights?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

I have a BS in healthcare. Decided to quit that and go to work in the oil industry. In 12 years, I have worked my way up from admin to Well Site Manager for mid company. Been in the field for 3 years and absolutely love it. But, I’m itching to go back to school for something related to oil & gas just to give me more options in the future. I’m not smart enough to be an engineer but I don’t want to purse a business degree like an MBA. I’m looking for something more technical. Any advice or suggestions? I don’t need the degree but it kills me that I’m not using my Bachelors. I have 25-30 years to work so eventually I will want to pivot from my current role.

Edit: I’m a company man in workover and completions. Not on the drilling side.

Hello,

I'm an Australian Engineer that has been doing work for Qatar & UAE onshore with business development. I have been asked if I can also run the tools for the guys onsite for ADNOC. There is not requirement for me to do, as my boss in Australia has made this optional.

My experience only pertains to rigs within Australian waters and I'm aware the conditions at the campsites are not the best. There is more pay for rig site than onshore support, but not more than I would receive offshore in Australia, therefore I don't feel an incentive to go and I've made that pretty clear to them

Currently in the military soon to separate, looking to get into the field, I’ve heard offshore makes more which I’m not opposed to but they want experience I believe, I have no idea where to get started any advice would be great.

I recently applied to their trainee production operator program. Does anyone have an idea if they accept intentional graduates ?

P.S: It was quite strange since its an operator position but they required bachelors in engg

I've heard mention of working in the private equity side of the industry as a reservoir / petroleum engineer. Didn't think about it then, but am now at a point in my career where I think there is a path towards PE down the line. I have a list of questions below about the O&G PE industry (specifically, on the technical engineering side)

1. My quick-and-dirty understanding of PE is that the firms are "house flippers" of companies. The firm takes invested money, buys ownership of a company, does "stuff", and then sells for (hopefully) a profit. What exactly is the "stuff" that they are doing during the several years they own the company? For example, if they think the company has too much cost and decide to streamline/sell-off non-core assets and cut the number of employees, what happens after that? Why do they continue to hold the company for years after that (I'm assuming the process of restructuring/layoffs + selling non-core assets is not something that takes 5+ years) - what are they specifically doing this time that isn't trying to sell their stake as soon as possible for a profit?

1a) As a follow-up to #1, why are PE firms so finance focused? Or rather, do PE firms not give consideration to operational or technical improvements? Perhaps this is not standard but I see PE firms often have a whole team of people with finance backgrounds and a smaller portion of technical backgrounds (usually reservoir engineers or geologists). Why do PE firms not consider more operational or technical improvements? For example, to continue the "house flipping" analogy, if the goal is to upgrade or improve the company for re-sale, couldn't it be possible that the asset has none or is lacking artificial lift and that somebody with a production or facilities background could identify areas of improvement that make the company more attractive?

1b) On that note, why even re-sell? If the PE firm buys the company, has revamped it into a better beast, why not continue to reap the rewards? Or are the returns from selling much better than the returns from operating? And assuming the new buyer is a long-term buyer/operator, what do they have (or see differently) that the PE firm does not, such that this new buyer wants to hold onto the asset long-term?

1c) And if the new buyer is another PE firm? What does this new PE firm have that the old PE firm didn't? Do they (the new firm) think that they have the know-how or info that the old firm didn't / has not fully optimized the company?

2. What is your opinion on the outlook of a career in the PE side of the industry? Seems like there has been a wave of consolidation over the last several years as bigger players gobble up smaller ones. Especially for those that have been in the game a long time, what are your thoughts on how PE fits into this space? Is this a great time for PE or does PE work better during different M&A environments?

3. How does technical work look like in a PE firm? I'm familiar with the workflow and operating process at operators, but what would the role of a reservoir engineer at a PE firm be? In other words, if the company the firm bought already has asset engineers, reservoir engineers, etc. doing the technical work, what am I doing? Or am I more involved in evaluating potential or upcoming deals and not actually that involved in the operating after the company has been bought?

4. What is the difference between PE-backed operators vs working at a PE firm? Is it right to say that working at a PE firm is its own thing but working at a PE-backed operator is more similar/same as any other traditional operator (just that your owners are probably going to change in a few years)?

5. On a scale of mom-and-pop operator --> independents --> supermajors, how does PE firm work fit into the scale in terms of:

• Technical training / emphasis on technical excellence
• Work-life balance
• Autonomy and bureaucracy
• Pay

I'm working as R&M specialist within Intervention service and drilling tools for Weatherford mainly fishing and Re-entry service and I was always dreaming of getting a job outside my country cause I we have low market capabilities and I was able to get yhe field experiences even though I have all the knowledge and capabilities, therefore if anyone could help me or guide me I would highly appreciate it

AITA

If I'm tired to waiting for my bf to get a job but he has only been unemployed for a month.

When your slipping on a land oil well. How does the rough neck know when to go back up to the floor to make a connection? Seriously, everyone else seems to get the flow and I'm just confused AF. Sometimes he'll hit the top then come down a little bit. Then slowly go down. Or just go up and fly down. What's my driller doing!? I missed a connection completely today. Oof.

Just got hired with HF Sinclair as a terminal technician. Would appreciate any and all advice on what to exactly expect.

I applied for the Geoscience role with GaffneyKlein (owned by Baker Hughes) and I completed the HireVue nearly a month ago and I haven’t heard anything back from that yet

Has anyone else heard from this application yet?

I’ve been working for an appliance manufacturer for almost 6 years now. I do repair and diagnostic of almost any kind of appliance. Also refrigeration and occasional HVAC. I’m comfortable. But I’m looking for more pay. More OT. And I wanted to see what I can look for at the refineries? And how do I apply? What positions would suit me best?. I used to work at a refinery as an iron worker. But that was years ago.

Hello kind folks,

The title is pretty self explanatory. Just accepted an offer. Taking my physical and background check soon. Then bosiet and weld test.

In the mean time, I'm trying to make sure I have everything I need. I intend to ask my recruiter this same question, but it would be stupid of me not to ask you folks with experience as well. What did you wish you had? What did you wish you knew?

Thanks a bunch!

Hi,

I’m currently working offshore as roustabout and today I received call asking if I’be interested in working for baker Hughes, entry level in europe etc.

I don’t know much of the company as in salary, management, rotation. Has anyone here made the transition to a service company? Dont know if would be worth it ..

I've been applying for months for oilfield jobs in Alberta with no luck. Everyone I've talked to who's been hired said they knew someone. I had interview for frac job and one of the first things the interviewer asked me was if I was referred by anyone. The rest of the questions I felt I answered well and the interviewer was nodding along to everything I said but I didn't get selected after.

If anyone has any leads on jobs that would be great. I have all my tickets and class 3 license.