Folks, those of you who worked as technical SME in the P&T organization, and are currently working outside Shell, kindly help me out.
How is the job market in Canada or US for Shell SMEs? Do other companies recognize our technical expertise? If I am looking for a job in Q1 of next year, any suggestion which companies I should try for first? How about salary, is it better in Shell or outside?
Any guidance or suggestion will be appreciated.
It is really nerve wracking to start your own company. But that's often the best way to make $$$ with your SME or TA2. But you need to hustle and sell yourself again and again to get jobs... it isn't for the fainthearted. I wish those who try that the best of luck. It isn't easy most of the time and it requires effort and always looking for more.
The alternative for the Gen-Xers and the Boomers is to invest in the stock market and live off your profits. Figure living off 4-5% of the money you have split between stocks and bonds. Bill Bengen showed that at the worst time in history an inflation adjusted 4% wouldn't run out, but in more common times to retire pulling 5-6% off would last over 30 years and in most cases grow. So, after you've saved your $6,000,000 then you can probably live off $300,000 per year inflation adjusted and cover your Shell salary...
There is a great statistical reference site called Rich, Broke, or dead it estimates the probability of each of those. If you've got $6,000,000 you're more likely to die than run out of money. Unfortunately, that's also kind of a big F_ U_ to society. If you go this route please involve yourself with volunteering or something.
But the thing about $ is that there is always more. Any $ amount goal can always be more and chasing that isn't rewarding. Find a point where you think you have enough.
you already answered your own question with what you quoted
it takes skill to be able to do it and most people attempting it are unskilled and unable to learn how to market theirselves. therefore job demand still exceeds supply
lots of people do hop every one-two years for more money, though this currently won’t work due to a bad market and there is a limit on that ability after 3-4 hops with a 1-2 year tenure regardless. this is because even the most lucrative jobs in the world only pay so much as salary before mixing in stock which vests over longer periods for the rest of the comp.
if you don’t believe any of this happens, i highly encourage you to check linkedin for tenure between job hops of successful people or ask ai about any portion.
job hopping is actually a faster path to senior leadership than rising through the ranks these days - i feel sorry for anyone who thinks loyalty matters! do your homework and remember that loyalty is a two way street and must be earned not blindly given.
@1et
Good Person,
Do you think it is a skill issue that everyone can't just get a new job that pays the same or more because you deem it so? Was that your experience?
IF that were really true, then shouldn't everybody just change jobs to get a raise? Does that make logical or mathematical sense to you? I mean what are the rules to this can I do it 7 times to double my salary (1.1)^7=1.948. Is there a cool-down period after I do it... do I need to wait 30 days?
That's just like the statement that women get paid 20-30% less than men for equal work. If that were true why aren't there companies that hire mostly women to save 30% of the above asset cost with the equivalent staff doing equal work but making more profit.
Seems like false logic to me.
an inability to find a job that pays at or above your current salary is 100% a skill issue. if you can’t do that, then you’re a poor marketer of yourself or you never should have made that much at shell. no other options. plain and simple
also the market is ill suited to job hopping for and extra 10-20% and has been for at least two years so you’re outdated there. it’s smarter to dig in. the situation has flipped back from covid
You are asking the most general question imaginable and hoping to get any clarity. Will you make more or less money? It depends. Will exterior companies give a fk about your Shell merit badge title? It depends. I swear these SMEs and PTEs are so fu--ing clueless.
Post ID: @q2+1jvbb8b2s
It is really true that people under 35 and in lower job grades can move about easier and can get the same or better pay.
Yes, the boomers and Gen-Xer are making oodles of $$$ at the senior job grades, so starting at a new company results in a reduced income.
That's not a skill issue but being later in your career.
100%. the people complaining sound like clueless boomers telling prospective employers or co-ktail party guests all of the shell lingo instead of explaining how they make actual money with their labor
skill issue, and not the kind you think
Most companies will get put off if you say ta2/1 or int even know what your on about. that’s a shell thing and now you’re applying to companies to do real jobs that will judge you on the value you can add and what you can deliver rather than commanding a junior engineer to re-write some bs presentation every 6 months to update you on something that doesn’t add value.
that’s why you don’t pitch yourself as an SME. you pitch yourself as a competent problem solver whose work makes money.
as i suspected, people here have no idea how to sell theirselves. you’re the one putting the “can only work at shell as a TA2 box” around yourself- not the prospective future employers. blame yourself, not the market or shell.
wow, theres a lot of bitter unemployed people in this thread
get a job, slackers. that’s what this is supposed to be for!
No major wants to hire SME from another company. They don't want to hear "we did this at Shell" or "this is how Shell did it" for the next 10 years.
TA3 is meaningless within Shell. At best, the TA3s learn from TA2s how to review others' work. It's more for the TA3's benefit than for the house.
don’t listen to these people, they’re clueless on how to market theirselves
shell is somewhat unique in those TA roles. you’ll have plenty of success if you can tie what you’ve done to dollar values in your resume and apply to other places with industrial logistics or manufacturing tech centers, such as amazon or tesla.
you’ll certainly need to study for the interview in a way likely unfamiliar to anyone who’s been at shell for 5+ years. but your skills translate and are valued.
my advise is to make a master resume which consists of every project and achievement you’ve done at shell. under each. a few bullets about what you did and how it made money. put the money amount. then for each role, shrink all of that down to a one page highlight reel of the most vital things relevant to the role then apply.
the people who take pay cuts absolutely exist but they are either in their 50s or out of touch with these modern ways of applying or both. be sure to avoid anything on your resume that can age you, as age hiring bias is real
Having shell on your cv is probably a negative compared to other companies and if you ONLY have shell you’ll find it very difficult. People will expect you’re not really that technical and good at making things much more difficult and time consuming than they need to be.
Companies do not trust Shell. They think we are a bunch of do nothing talkers who are skilled in an overly narrow area. They do respond to your personal brand or personal reputation. If you've presented, published, worked with, or have done something to show you really do know something, then you'll get snatched up. If you have a reputation in Shell but not externally, then well you're outta luck plan on starting out like a JG4, but in another company.
As for valuing the SMEs it's a lot like Dunning Kruger, everybody claims to be an expert. You've gotta prove it. And folks don't automatically assume Shell = technical excellence. Besides there is no way to check TA or SME, so anybody can put that on their resume.
Try the majors/near majors first, you'll be disappointed with smaller companies. Going with a company that is too small feels like you're on the middle school junior varsity team instead of the high school varsity team.
Expect typical jobs to be 150-220k, you'll see quite a few of those... but they're not really looking for an SME. You want one of the advisor roles or VP roles but there aren't many of those out there figure 1-2 every 4 months and a lot of competition.