How to get into the Oil & Gas industry?

00ChevyScott

00ChevyScott

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I live in Texas, and there's a ton of money in this industry. Do any of you have experience in this industry and could you give me any pointers in getting started in it? I'm looking at available jobs and they're all mid to upper level positions. I don't have the experience or the education for these positions, although I do have a Bachelors degree (just not in engineering or geology). I could do sales or labor, depending on what's available and what is the more reliable position to start in.
 
My cousin worked at various refineries as a valve technician. He would travel to a few different refineries and pipeline areas and do preventative maintanece on the valves and fittings. The work was dirty but he was always busy and the money was good.
 
I am a process technician (operator) at refinery in Texas. Where would you like to start? Refining, production, exploration, etc? The salary type jobs usually require an engineering or geology degree. Hourly jobs (like mine) usually require a process technology degree or certificate, but not always. The company I hired on with back on '08, and still work for, didn't require any type of degree since they give thier employees all the training they need. They're the exception, though.
 
To be blunt, do you have ANYTHING to offer? ANY sales experience, any O&G knowledge, any roughneck experience?

If you've ever done sales, you might try some of the smaller oilfield supply companies and work your way up to the bigger ones.

If you're willing to do the roughneck stuff for a few months to get the experience, it might help, but it's tough, nasty work.

Any skills in welding? CDL? Try the rockin' Bakken.

Any IT skills/certification? Give us something to go on.
 
amflud said:
I am a process technician (operator) at refinery in Texas. Where would you like to start? Refining, production, exploration, etc? The salary type jobs usually require an engineering or geology degree. Hourly jobs (like mine) usually require a process technology degree or certificate, but not always. The company I hired on with back on '08, and still work for, didn't require any type of degree since they give thier employees all the training they need. They're the exception, though.
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I'm willing to do anything someone is willing to give me the chance at. I'm a quick learner, and I pride myself in the fact that I can learn just about anything. I take after my Dad in that respect, that I want to learn how to do things myself, and I am willing to give it a shot. I'm talking to a friend of a friend about getting into fracing, seems to be a pretty decent gig, but I'll need a CDL.
 
I'm afraid I don't know anything about fracking. I worked on alot of drilling locations when I was a teenager and if it's anything like that then there'll be alot of travel involved and the money should be pretty good. I'm not sure about the job security, though. I hired on at the refinery because I'm married now and want the job security and to be able to be at home at least once in a 24 hour period.
 
TimberWolf7.62 said:
To be blunt, do you have ANYTHING to offer? ANY sales experience, any O&G knowledge, any roughneck experience?

If you've ever done sales, you might try some of the smaller oilfield supply companies and work your way up to the bigger ones.

If you're willing to do the roughneck stuff for a few months to get the experience, it might help, but it's tough, nasty work.

Any skills in welding? CDL? Try the rockin' Bakken.

Any IT skills/certification? Give us something to go on.
Click to expand...

I've done retail sales, and am now doing commercial sales for auto parts. I don't have any O&G experience. I don't know how to weld, and I don't have a CDL (but I'd be willing to get one if it'd be a big plus). I don't have any IT certs but I'm pretty tech savvy.
 
OK, that's not bad. Are you a good salesman? The O&G industry is composed not only of the big oil companies, but many smaller companies that sell things to them, like pipe, bits, chemicals, drilling fluids, etc. Smith Industries, Wilson Supply, Grainger, BJ Services, Francis Drilling Fluids, Weatherford, Megadiamond, KBR, etc.
 
TimberWolf7.62 said:
OK, that's not bad. Are you a good salesman? The O&G industry is composed not only of the big oil companies, but many smaller companies that sell things to them, like pipe, bits, chemicals, drilling fluids, etc. Smith Industries, Wilson Supply, Grainger, BJ Services, Francis Drilling Fluids, Weatherford, Megadiamond, KBR, etc.
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That could be something I could definitely do, but is the money going to be there like with other O & G jobs? I've got 6+ years of catalog (paper and electronic) experience, so parts sales to companies would be a really easy fit to go into.
 
Well, the thing, as always, is going to be to go from what you are to what you want to be. So if you want $200 an hour, you have to make the moves to get there step by step. It might happen, but it won't be overnight.

So you ought to push your sales skills and look for something in the oilfield supply arena - not pipe, since you don't know ANSI, but mud or other chemicals or miscellaneous supply. I named some of the probable companies above.
 
Look around to see what maintenance contractors are hiring. Work a shut down or two to see if that's what you really want to do. Sometimes the plants hire from their contractor group. The P-tech school is the best way in to get a plant job, hardly any plant will hire without the degree. The contractor route may take longer to get a plant job. The money working in a plant is good, but it is a high risk job that can get you hurt. Ask yourself this, would you want to have been working at BP when an explosion occurred and killed 14 people???? Would you be able to live with yourself if you made a mistake that cost someone their life???? Yeah, there's a lot of money to be made, but there's a price to pay for everything.
What about 12 hour shift work, being on call, not having a normal social life, working on days off, weekends when everyone else is enjoying it, working holidays and the list goes on
 
A lot of the actual 'work' is done by contractors. And they often have a hard time finding reliable employees, plus the work can be extremely physical, which leads to a high turnover.

I worked for several years as mudlogger-geologist on a drill rig. On call 24-7, working for weeks or months without a day off. The job was in the local gas field, but I was still often away from home for days at a time. Money was good. The serious career mudloggers all had college degrees, but the company often hired anyone with a pulse, especially for the Helper positions.
Got my start through a temporary service; many companies take on new hires through temp services for a probation period.

Good luck!
 
my dad is a oil enginer. he use to work for el paso gas company. work for them a very long time.



00ChevyScott said:
I live in Texas, and there's a ton of money in this industry. Do any of you have experience in this industry and could you give me any pointers in getting started in it? I'm looking at available jobs and they're all mid to upper level positions. I don't have the experience or the education for these positions, although I do have a Bachelors degree (just not in engineering or geology). I could do sales or labor, depending on what's available and what is the more reliable position to start in.
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Are you willing to move to the Eagle Ford in South Texas? If you have a pulse, a good work ethic, and get your CDL you would be hard pressed not to get a job down here.

Since you have some sales experience I would look at equipment or chemical sales. PM me with your number and we can talk more.
 
I'm going to say sales and supply. Globally things are cooling off, so the days of throwing a dozen guys at a job and seeing who's still there at the end of the week are gone. If you have any sort of inventory tracking experience, or warehouse management, that can also be something to go for. From there its a who you know sort of game, and you can find people that will get you on a path. You are going to need to bring something to the table to start, so go with what you know.

Do you have a career goal in mind? If so, are you very sure oil/gas work is the way to get there? If not, are you sure you can pay the price for the work. If its strictly a dollars in pocket kind of thing, well, there is a reason some of those jobs pay so well. I would recommend looking at your long term outcomes. Selling autoparts might not be a glamor job, but its going to be much more stable than oil/gas work. Getting your journeyman parts ticket could be a good option, A good parts guy is hard to find, and many companies work hard to keep them. If you wanted to change industries, at least then you have a really solid skill that's in demand. But its also one that is really hard to train, so companies will pay premium to get someone good, instead of trying to train a rookie who might not be any good at it. Shops live and die by their parts guys. If you are willing to relocate, maybe try to find a job at a parts store in a hub town, one that sees lots of oil/gas traffic. your cost of living will go up, but it might be a way to get into a solid future.
 
ChevyScott hasn't posted in this topic since April. I wonder if he's out on a rig in the Gulf by now? :)
 
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