After being here a few years myself, I'm curious about the perspective of people who joined more recently. Do you view Chevron as a company where you can genuinely build a lasting career? I think the expectations are just different now than they used to be.
11 replies (most recent on top)
Totally agree with the outlook of being able to work anywhere and with any industry. Sadly, this is an old way of working and thinking: stay here to retire. It’s probably why everyone is so unhappy, but afraid to leave. Industrialization is over, yet old people are still in charge. The best thinks to do is let them think they are and just work in the new ways. Think of it like an old folks home. They have to have something to do - like crossword puzzles.
Move on and do what you were born to do.
@ax the investment bakers are greedy? Just say j00s like Spiering, Pate, and the dual citizen Israelis roaming the halls
absolutely. i suspect we have many out of touch commenters who don’t understand that lol and gas companies now consider you to be interchangeable parts with no real skill differentiation and therefore they can swap you out for cheaper labor at any time with no downsides
there is no such thing as an oil and gas career unless you count a 3-7 year run before getting bought out.
smart people will plan financially accordingly. fools will get cut and then take a pay cut and come back and whine about how nobody pays as well as oil and gas when being unable to achieve that is completely their fault
I definitely came for the salary. I also genuinely had a great team, but I’m looking elsewhere now at jobs that pay $35k+ less because I’m that unhappy. Chevron is not a people first company.
Only see it is a good place to get some learning, make good money early on to charge up the savings and retirementand then jump to something that’s way more fulfilling way more stimulating way more safe, but it might pay less but that doesn’t matter cause I’ve already saved up a chunk
@af, I'm not sure why some posters seem to think that getting a job in Oil & Gas is a lifetime career commitment that cannot ever be changed. That's far from the truth. Many posts to younger employees and new hires take that viewpoint almost to the point of trolling. I was an FE at Chevron for the first 4 years of my career then I went to work at a company in a completely different industry and my experience with Chevron was invaluable. It's like that for all industry. I know quit a few people who were in Oil and Gas and switched to other industries with no problems and vice versa. Also I know a few who joined consulting firms that service many different clients, power, mining, building and infrastructure, etc. "Stay here until I retire" is the only thing that's a thing of the past. You can retire anytime, from anywhere as long as you're ready and prepared.
@a2
I understand how you feel. Learn as much as you can while you are at Chevron.
Some people stay because they have good jobs and their spouses spend to much money. I am nearing retirement and I will stay until the next layoff. Chevron was a “great” company. Now it is just a shadow of the glory it once was. I am thankful for my time here but I would not tell my children to title here. That being said, the corporate American jobs have become to anti employee and too focused on corporate dividends and returns in the 20+ % range. The investment bankers are too greedy and the American workers will suffer.
The culture has changed drastically. There is no long term future in USat Chevron. If you are still here learn as much as you can and leave for next job before you get laid off. Unfortunately, it’s no longer a company for long term growth.
When I initially hired on ~10 years ago, I did so because I thought Chevron was a company I could retire from. They made it very clear over the last 5 years that this was not the case anymore so I gladly took my leave during the last round. I highly recommend to new hires not staying more than 5 years if you have other options. Get your first few job scopes under your belt to gain experience, save your money, and then leapfrog to a company that will treat you better. Since leaving I am paid more, respected more, benefits at my new company are much better, and the working requirements allow me to actually live a fulfilling life. No second phone, no more working weekends, the people I work with are competent, the list goes on. Get out while you can before you hit burnout like the rest of us did.
As someone with nearly two decades in this industry, I’m honestly surprised to see people still choosing to enter oil and gas. Every time I greet them and say hi, part of me can’t help but quietly wonder: why would you come here?
No. I have been here two years and already have one foot out the door. My sense is that this place is where careers go to die.
The only people who stay here are those that can’t make it anywhere else, or can’t work anywhere else for other reasons.