Bad day for the tech boys: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-x-blast-idUSKCN11750U
10 replies (most recent on top)
Good luck,
Although you will make more in oil and gas than any other industry. They will make you work your rear off as well. Not so much in Exxon, but they are results driven. So if you charge 40 hours, there better be 60-80 hours worth of production from that or you might be out quick.
Thank you for your advice. Most of you seem to say jump ship fast. When I started this adventure it seemed like a good option, and the engineering schools certainly pushed us in that direction. I had no idea how regional engineering training was. The oil execs where b--ching about the great crew change and the high salaries they were having to dish out, so the obvious answer was crank more out. Many of you have had good careers and I was hoping for the same. It is easy to conclude that going elsewhere would be the smartest move, it is also reasonable to concluded engineering jobs, in general, will remain uncertain in the global economy. If an industry so heavily dependent on engineering doesn't particularly value its engineers, then there is obviously an oversupply, but that holds true for many industries. I read the other day that most oil CEO's think we are a dime a dozen. I have options in California, but the cost of living is very high.
After graduating from UT, I accepted a reservoir engineering position with a major 30 years ago during the great oil bust of the eighties and endured 10% headcount reductions ever quarter and recall being astonished at the lack of concern industry wide for employees and maintaining and developing talent. As a result went to night school, earned an MBA, relocated from Houston to the East Coast and have been gainfully employed since in management and corporate development roles. That’s a long way of saying change industries as soon as possible. I have a child entering professional employment and would never recommend the energy sector. Job seekers should turn elsewhere.
Take the job as it is...and keep looking for another knowing the current market. It is easier to get a job when you have a job.
I would take whatever job pays the most, whether in oil and gas or in another industry.
Thank you for your insights and for your advice. There was an interesting article about a year or two ago that pondered which engineers would win. It was comparing the Houston oil engineers to the Silicon Valley engineers. I guess we have our answer.
I have been in this industry 30 yrs as of last month (drilling) it has been very good to me. However I have been very flexible and made a lot of sacrifices. Things are not at all like they used to be in the business.
My opinion? For an educated young person as yourself, I would seriously consider another field, that's just my personal opinion. Good luck to you....
Go to other industry if you have the choice. Oil is to uncertain. I'm a new engineer at a major operator, lost my job after 3 years. Wish I took the alternative back then.....I'm out to another industry now......good luck!
Certainly not wanting to be disrespectful to anyone on this layoff site, but if you were given an offer, knowing what you know, would you take it? Given the current state of the industry and future prospects, it certainly seems like a legitimate question. The risks going forward seem substantial, with disruptive technologies and the Paris Accord it would appear that the old responses won't be effectual. Slash and burn and wait for the correction may have worked in the past, but It looks like the oil industry is going through a structural change and I'm not sure what it will look like going forward. Any insights would be helpful for an engineer starting out that could go in a different direction.