Oil Drilling Rig Jobs – Why And How To Find Jobs On Oil Rigs

August 25th, 2009

Why Should You Look For Oil Drilling Rig Jobs?
Oil drilling rig jobs are highly sought after by some people, yet it generally remains off the radar for many job seekers. Despite several decades of gender equality laws, oil drilling rig jobs are still heavily dominated by men, especially on offshore oil rigs. Gender isn’t the only unbalanced factor on an oil rig – most of the men are in the twenties to thirties, with the exception being in posts with more responsibility.

There is good reason for this – oil drilling rig jobs are tough and gruelling, with long, hard hours, often in bad weather. Most of the work on an offshore oil platform requires physical strength and stamina, and a considerable dose of courage, self-belief and self-reliance. These are qualities one would expect to see in a good soldier, which is one reason why many ex-armed forces personnel find it easy to make the transition after they end their service. Of course, the difficulty of finding workers like this, together with the large amounts of money flowing around in the oil and gas industry, results in very high pay for all involved.

Even for someone without any experience, the offshore drilling company is willing to pay him $45,000 every year to work as an entry level roustabout. Depending on location, and whether he works an 8-hour shift or 12-hour shift, he might work 3 weeks and take the next 2 weeks off, or work a 2-week on, 2-week off schedule. More remote regions might well see an extreme 6-weeks on schedule, although this is still uncommon.

Getting back to our hypothetical roustabout, once he packs in another 10 to 20 years of experience under his belt, he should easily earn $55,000 a year, especially if he can find a unionized job. Given that an equivalent job on a construction site on land pays only around $30,000 a year, this is an exceptionally high pay for a laborer’s work. It’s the sort of salary a mid-level manager in a good company would expect to earn.

Of course, roustabout jobs are not the only no experience oil drilling rig jobs that pay so well. A steward, fresh out of high school, who provides housekeeping services on the offshore platform, also has a comparable salary. There are many other jobs which require no experience on an offshore oil rig, but require some amount of trade skills, like that of an electrician, mechanic/motorman, cook, etc, which also pay significantly more than the same job on land. If someone graduated with the right kind of Geology or Engineering degree, making $80,000 a year is easily achievable.

Earning this type of salary usually requires spectacular talent, for example a star singer or actor, or a good athlete. If you don’t have such special talent, an oil drilling rig job is one of the few honest paths to earning big money. Unlike people in politics, or working in public relations or selling used cars, you can wake up in the morning and still face yourself in the mirror without feeling any guilt. So if you have the strength and the guts, why settle for the pittance that Walmart or McDonald’s pays you?

So Oil Drilling Rig Jobs Offer Great Pay, But What About The Prospects?
Work hard and get big bucks – that’s what oil drilling rig jobs offer you. But are such jobs still available? During the recession, at end-2008 up to mid-2009, there have been many stories of lay-offs even in the oil industry. Large oil service contractors like Schlumberger announced that they were cutting 5,000 jobs. Even Halliburton said there would be lay-offs at their company. But is this completely true?

If you look at the fact that Schlumberger had an order backlog of $1.77 billion in 2009, the truth starts to come out. Those 5,000 jobs are not coming from the ranks of their offshore oil rig workers, not with such a massive backlog. No indeed, those lay-offs are coming from the poor performers of their sales and finance staff. Instead of the normal bottom 10% being cut, they are probably going as high as 20% or 30%. On top of that, there is the usual attrition, especially from their older and less productive oil wells on land. Then there are the older workers who were hired in the last oil boom in the 1970s – many of them should be feeling their age by now.

Some of you might wonder: What about the stories of oil companies idling their oil rigs and shutting down entire oil fields? This is true. Older and less productive oil fields in places like South Texas are being shut down. In the middle of the recession, in March 2009, many jobs were lost. But at that very same time, workers were finding new oil drilling rig jobs in East Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and offshore in the Gulf. Large offshore drilling companies like Transocean and Noble Corporation are hiring thousands of workers for their new deep-ocean oil rigs.

Offshore drilling jobs are becoming more common, as more oil fields on land grow old and start drying out. More and more oil will have to be drilled from offshore oil fields, for example the new fields that Exxon found off the coast of Brazil. But let’s not just look at anecdotal evidence. Let us examine the data provided by economists and analysts, the same information that managers work on.

Barclays analysts James Crandell and James West reported that oil companies worldwide will still spend $400 billion on oil production and exploration in 2009. That’s a lot of money, considering the recession. Longer-term, Exxon plans to spend $150 billion over the next 5 years. Even this is just a small part of what will be spent. Analysts from the International Energy Agency report that they expect oil producers to spend $20 trillion over the next 25 years to find and drill more oil, as more and more countries achieve greater wealth. With so much money to be spent, do you doubt that there will be oil drilling rig jobs available?

Even if the Greenies say that alternative energies like wind and solar generators will greatly reduce the need to burn oil, the simple fact is that many cars, lorries, busses, and planes still need oil. And that’s not all – many types of plastics, and many types of chemicals, can only be made from oil. Even if every car were to start running on electricity and batteries, so many different kinds of household goods are made from plastic or some other synthetic material that there would still be a great need for oil.

So long as you are willing to travel and to leave your home state or country, you will be able to find oil drilling rig jobs. What really matters is your strength and courage. As long as you have that, you will be able to find an oil field job.

Finding Oil Drilling Rig Jobs – Three Easy, Free Methods Everyone Uses
Knowing that there are oil drilling rig jobs available both today and 20 years in the future is one thing, finding these jobs is another problem entirely. Oil is so important to the modern economy that the oil industry is willing to spend so much money to pump it out of the ground. But if you look for an oil rig job in the wrong place, like South Texas in early 2009, you won’t find work even if you are willing to work on half-pay.

If you have just graduated from high school or college, you won’t have much money to spend on job hunting. One of the oldest and cheapest methods of looking for a job is to scan for job advertisements in the newspaper. If you stay in a booming oil town, you are lucky – all you need is your local paper (and maybe state-level newspaper). Especially in the US, many oil fields are being operated by smaller contractors. They don’t often run advertisements for roustabout job vacancies in large national dailies. If you live off the beaten track (as far as oil drilling is concerned anyway), you may need to find some way to order the daily newspapers for oil-producing states like Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc. If possible, you should ask your local library if they can bring in these newspapers.

The younger generation should be quite familiar with using the internet to look for jobs. Looking for oil job vacancies and posting your resume on free online job boards like Monster is something that has really gained traction in the last decade. The downside is that the typical management of oil service companies are NOT a part of the younger generation, and may not use the internet to look for workers. Combined with the fact that this method is free, easy and used by so many job seekers, your chances of getting oil drilling rig jobs this way are somewhat poor.

This leads to the third, free job-hunting technique – networking. This is a technique that many managers and salesmen have shown to work again and again, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t work in getting you that offshore oil rig job you’ve been looking for. It is something even professional recruiters recommend. You’ll need to let your friends and family know that you are looking for oil rig employment. Start with your immediate family and closest friends, them move on to people you don’t know as well. Eventually, you should find yourself speaking with your ex-classmates, old teachers, even your barber, local grocer, and priest. For all you know, the kid who delivers your papers in the morning or mows your lawn every few weeks may know someone who knows someone who can offer you a job. A lot of work is needed, so most people are too shy or too lazy to do it well. But if you are one of the few who dare, it can definitely give you good results.

Four Effective Techniques Proven To Find Oil Drilling Rig Jobs
The following three techniques have been proven to find jobs from oil rig companies. However, they require some out-of-pocket expense. Since not many job seekers are willing to spend money, you won’t find many competitors for the same job vacancies you are targeting.

The first method needs a car, and only works on land. You need to drive around looking for oil fields. It helps to have a good detailed local map so that you can mark the places you have already visited. You need to find the boss of each oil rig and ask him if he has a job for you. Obviously, DO NOT wear a suit and tie. You’ll find yourself spending quite a bit on gasoline, and of course you only want to do this in oil-producing states/regions. Most vacancies will be for roustabouts – there isn’t much need for a steward or cook, after all. Why does this method work? Easy. In many cases, the rig boss will be the first to know that his worker just quit. If you can see him before he sends off that job advertisement, you won’t need to face-off against any other job seekers.

The second technique borrows a page from the door-to-door salesman. Simply put, you need to visit the office of every oil drilling company in town. You’ll need to find their addresses from the local trade directory and yellow pages. The local library might have a copy you can borrow, or you might have to buy your own copies. You have to be thick-skinned – some of these places will kick you out. However, since none of them will remember your face anyway, you don’t need to worry. If a receptionist or secretary stops you, nicely and politely ask her for the proper person and contact information. It doesn’t matter if this office does not have any openings for oil drilling rig jobs. Just visit the next office on your list. To efficiently work this strategy, you need to drive. You’ll be spending money on gas and parking.

The third method of finding oil drilling rig jobs is a bit more indirect. You need to know where the oil workers spend their time after they finish work. Depending on which oil field they work at, many of them may go out for a beer every Friday night. For offshore oil rigs, you’ll need to find out when they end their tour on the oil platform. In general, they won’t take it kindly if you start asking them if there are roustabout vacancies where they work. You’ll need to become friends with them before they’ll help you. And of course you need to make sure you don’t get too drunk yourself. This is probably the slowest method to find a drilling rig job, but it can work. Who knows, one of your new friends may be quitting his job to work for a new company. He may even be willing to recommend you to his current boss.

The fourth method involves paying one of the specialized services who mass-submit your resume to hundreds or even thousands of oil rig companies and oil service contractors. Practically all of them claim to help you find oil drilling rig jobs within just one or two weeks. In actual fact, some of these services are out-and-out frauds, while others have varying degrees of effectiveness. These mass-submission services usually cost between $50 to $100. When it works, it is incredibly cheap. When it doesn’t, that’s money down the drain. It is difficult to do due diligence for these services because many of them only work online. The safest way to pay for these services is to set up a pre-paid PayPal account for payment. This way, a conman can’t hit your credit card for an unannounced $5000 charge for extra services rendered.

So now you know why you should look for oil drilling rig jobs, and you also know that there are very good long-term prospects for these jobs. You have also learned 7 different methods you can use to find these entry level oil rig jobs.

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Offshore Roughneck Jobs

August 12th, 2011

Whether the economy is struggling or in a growth mode it is generally believed that a college degree is necessary to be able to earn a really decent wage. While there may be a certain validity to that, not everyone is cut out for college. Fortunately, there are still areas where, if one is willing to work hard, it is possible to earn a very good living without acquiring more education. Offshore oil drilling provides just such an opportunity, and, for those with some industry experience, entry level roughneck jobs are an excellent avenue to consider.

There aren’t many places where someone with no more than a high school education or even simply GED certification and little experience can make a starting salary that is close to double the current minimum wage. In a time where many are working two to three jobs, with zero benefits and barely making enough to pay the bills, roustabouts can expect $26,000 with a range up to around $35,000. With a little experience that same individual can move up to a roughneck salary that ranges from $40,000 to in excess of $50,000.

When the economy struggles, employers start cutting costs. Often this results in decreasing staff or cutting or totally eliminating benefits, especially in the area of medical insurance. As premiums have skyrocketed, companies have been anxious for an excuse to stop providing coverage for their employees and more and more are doing so. Offshore roughneck jobs, as well as the other positions offshore have, thus far, escaped these cuts.

Traditionally, the most common career path for a roughneck was to gain hands-on experience as a roustabout, and then, as skills and experience warranted, move into the roughneck position and later on to that of becoming a driller. As competition for good jobs increased and the demand for petroleum products continued to rise, roughneck training schools started to pop up around the world. While some are marginally useful and others out and out scams, there are some that provide valuable experience and are respected throughout the oil industry. These are not inexpensive, but some come with the added advantage of assisting with employment following completion of the course.

The oil rig roughneck still works in land-based oil field operations. There are roughneck jobs in Texas, Oklahoma and throughout the west. For those who don’t mind the cold there are even roughneck jobs in North Dakota. More often, however, roughneck employment these days is found on offshore drilling rigs and platforms. For those with little to no experience, the most common way to get started working in the offshore oil industry is that of the general labor roustabout. After about six months to a year, provided that an individual has demonstrated a strong work ethic and learned the basics of how things operate, there is often the opportunity to move up to the position of roughneck.

Offshore roughneck jobs entail duties that require experience and are more skilled. They work under the driller, who is the drilling crew supervisor, and are responsible for the basic operations of the drilling equipment and machinery. This includes aligning, tightening and unscrewing pipes as new lengths are added as well as and positioning casing, tubing and pump rods. They collect cutting and core samples. The cleaning, maintenance and repair of the drilling equipment is also their responsibility.

One of the critical areas aboard a drilling rig is the mud room. Drilling mud is what is used as a lubricant for the drill bits and at least one drilling roughneck is typically always on duty in the mud process area. They assist in repairing the mud pumps and participate in the preparation and mixing of the drilling mud. Roustabouts gain valuable experience working in the mud rooms when they are assigned as reliefs for the roughnecks during meal breaks.

Most offshore operations run 24 hours a day, and a roughneck will normally pull shifts that are 12 hours on and then 12 hours off. Cycles generally run for two to three weeks and are then followed by a break of at least two weeks off. Workers are transported to shore for their off-time and may receive travel compensation for their airfare to their home base.

Most jobs aboard offshore drilling rigs or platforms are physically demanding but this is especially the case with roustabout and roughneck oil rig jobs. There is a reason for that relatively generous salary. In addition, this type of work environment carries a high risk of injury. All offshore workers wear protective gear while on duty. This may include hard hats, gloves, goggles, different types of harnesses and noise suppression ear plugs. Those working around boilers or steam engine parts must also wear thermal suits. Roughneck training is ongoing and constantly includes an emphasis on safety. Emergency drills are routine for all employees working offshore, and many are also required to be proficient in responding to fires and pass courses in survival training.

If an above average salary and a lot of time off in which to enjoy it appeals to you, how do you know if you have what it takes to work offshore as a roughneck? Obviously, you must be willing to work long hours in a position that is extremely physically demanding. Roughneck pay is as high as it is because the work can be grueling, is usually dirty and often done in extreme weather conditions. For two to three weeks, a roughneck will do little more than work, sleep and eat.

Besides having to be at least 18, to qualify for most offshore positions, an individual should have a high school diploma or GED completion and be in excellent physical condition. A thorough medical evaluation will be required as well as standard drug testing. Even though the work is primarily manual labor, there is data that needs to be collected and recorded so a familiarity with computers is a definite plus. Comparable experience, for instance in construction or mechanical repair or maintenance, counts heavily on a resume.

One of the reasons that there are roughneck job openings on a fairly consistent basis is that many times a roughneck will gain sufficient skills and experience to move up to the position of derrick operator or eventually become a driller. However, another common reason is that there is a high turnover due to the demands of the position and the fact that it is too difficult for many to be away from home for such extended periods of time. While many may embrace this part of the lifestyle as being a benefit, others are simply not cut out for it. This is something that should be carefully considered in advance, although it often takes the actual experience itself for one to know how they will react.

Working offshore means living offshore for half the time. Consequently, another essential element on a roughneck job description is the ability to be able to work and live with others in a very small and confined space. The stereotype of oil workers as being rowdy brawlers can even be seen in the title itself of “roughneck”. This type of behavior may have been the norm in the early days of the old west, but it is not the case on today’s modern offshore facilities. The safety and welfare of all aboard is affected by the behavior and performance of each worker, including the roughneck. Anyone unable to work as part of team, pull their own weight on a timely and consistent basis and respect the limited privacy of others is not a candidate for this sort of environment, and it is highly unlikely that they will last long.

The flip side to the necessity of being able to get along well with others and be a team player is that most offshore rigs and platforms take on the feeling of home for those who work on them for any length of time. Many old timers will tell you that it’s not the roughneck wages that they love so much about the life: it’s the camaraderie that develops onboard. This is much the same thing that happens with soldiers stationed overseas, which is also a reason that you will find a lot of former military service members working offshore in the oil industry.

Oil rig roughneck jobs, like most other offshore drilling rig and platform jobs have traditionally been held by men. This has been changing, although not at a rapid rate. Women can now be found on most rigs and platforms. They serve mainly in management positions, as engineers or can be found as cooks and in housekeeping. The more rare female roughneck still has a lot of hurdles to leap on most rigs before becoming accepted as a member of the team. She will often have to be tougher and work harder. This is much the same as it has been in other male-dominated areas but the trend is toward equality, albeit the progress is slow.

What does the future hold for roughnecks and the oil industry in general? There is no argument that the demand for petroleum based products is at an all-time high and, despite conservation efforts, does not seem to be declining. Nonetheless, there is a finite amount of oil on the planet, and, eventually, it is simply going to run out. Add that to the damage that has been and is continuing to be done to the environment and there are those that will tell you that the oil industry is not the direction to look when making a career choice.

Concerns about the oil industry is something that should be taken into consideration. However, prior to the disastrous Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, employment prospects for individuals involved in the offshore exploration and extraction of oil was better than for most other industries. Because U.S. energy consumption is expected to continue to increase through at least 2030, many still believe that to be the case as long as oil companies adhere to stricter safety guidelines and prevent further incidents. This is good news not only for petroleum engineers, rig operators and other skilled positions but also for the inexperienced roustabout and those ready for the next step up as a roughneck.

Whether one is looking for offshore roughneck jobs in Louisiana or roughneck jobs in Wyoming there is still opportunity out there. Does this mean that you are guaranteed to find a job or, when you do, that you will have job security for the rest of your life? Of course not. Roughneck oil jobs, whether in Canada, the Gulf of Mexico or somewhere in the Middle East are no different from any other job in that security is a thing of the past. Those days where you started with a company when you were young, worked 40 years or so and retired with a pension and a gold watch are long gone. That’s as true for roughneck work as it is for every other type of job.

Perhaps the best advice for those searching for roughneck jobs is to be smart and think ahead. As should now be clear, this kind of work is very physically demanding and usually done by those who are young and in great shape. Unfortunately, the young do not do well at planning for the future and so those two to three weeks off the rig are spent in partying and spending most, if not all, of those better than average wages. A far wiser course would be to recognize that roughneck oil jobs are great for awhile but not something to count on for the long haul. Saving some of that money and taking advantage of the opportunity to develop the skills that are available for learning on a drilling rig or platform can be used to build a future.

Although not for everyone, there is a lot to be said for pursuing this kind of work. Offshore roughneck jobs, especially, can be financially rewarding and challenging. And if all of that isn’t enough, spend some time with some “old timers” listening to their stories. They will either terrify you or have you looking for the nearest roughneck vacancies!

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