[Closed] Offshore Guidance

Bachelors in Electronics Engineering

Scrumple it up and get an HNC? I'm joking a little, but that would make you look rather overqualified out here. I'd certainlly bee looking for an instrumentation or telecoms role rather than an electrician

Applying directly to the big employers (wood group PSN, petrofac etc.) might get you somewhere - but they often look for industry specific experience over qualifications. If you don't fancy trying to wheedle your way onto an appreticeship, the best place to find experience might be onshore at a terminal or refinery. Alternativelly try some of the specialist companies providing field service technicians to the Industry (Rolls Wood Group, Solar Turbines) They seem to provide pretty good training and it's interesting work.

The Operators (Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips etc.) might be interested in taking you through a graduate scheme - but that would lead you to the office, not the rig...

Oh another course that's likely to be essential is Compex. If you're not used to working with armoured cable, barrier glands and I.S circuits it will be heavy going, but it's fundamental to instrument and electrical work in explosive atmospheres.

where are you doing your Mist and Bosiet? I could mibbe get you a discount if in Aberdeen

You might want to register with this outfit - www.oc99.com

Have you tried SS7.

Thanks alot guys.

@Oliverd1981, I have already tried applying to all those but I haven't been successful, I am thinking on getting training on Instrumentation & control but my problem is I dont know which agencies or company that would hire me with that having no prior O&G experience.

@bruneep thx man but I've already finished the payment and all.

@woody21, I have done that already, cheers

@maddyutah..SS7 u mean Subsea 7? I have done that in the past and wasnt successful.

The standard for getting offshore now is through OPITO approved courses and apprenticeships.
Although it appears that the applications for 2013 are closed, apply as people drop out. There is also a page on the site below that has a list of the employers, get in touch with them all with your CV.

[url= http://uk.opito.com/learning-training/modern-apprenticeship-scheme ]OPITO apprenticeships[/url]

TIP: make sure your CV is no more than one side of an A4 sheet. You haven't got enough relevant experience for anything more than that and many employers will instantly throw out any CV's more than one A4 side before looking at it.

Best of luck!

Aye Subsea 7.They always seem to be on the hunt for electrical Techs usually time served electricians dont know if you degree would qualify you for this

when have you been applying ?

things have been a little quiet the last couple of years but things are in boom just now , reapply for everything you might get lucky.

Thx guys, I will do that straight away.

I wanted to ask, arent there agencies that seldom take up guys for offshore jobs?

I hear people getting lucky once in a while being offered opportunities even without degrees.

@trail rat, I applied around feb - March this year

There are loads of agencies in Aberdeen.
Many employers use Linkedin to look for people, through both methods are usually for people with experience.

Worth a try though.

Thx Stats, do u have any you might recommend to follow up, I Live in London which is one of my setbacks but planning on coming a day or two in Aberdeen for job hunt.

It's a few months away, but a trip to Offshore Europe in September (it's at the conference centre in Aberdeen) would be worth a shot if you're still looking.

Edit: also get your CV on oilcareers, oilandgasjobsearch and the like

It may be an easier route to get an onshore oil and gas job first (as that could get a lot of experience that is required) then once you have a couple years experience it would be far easier to go offshore (most of my colleagues that want to go offshore manage to get offshore without too much difficulty,process operator in oil refinery).

OP, i work for these guys:

http://www.stena-drilling.com/

Basically send your CV in and see what they say. I suspect with your qualifications something along the lines of Electronics Technician would be on the right track. The only real way into the offshore world is to keep banging your CV in to any company or agency you can find on Google and be persistant and flexible.

Email me in profile if you want me to organise a chat to our instruments guys - why offshore? You want the rotation? Otherwise think project if prepared to go where the work is.

Thx guys, My day has been excellent with all these insights and suggestions.

@Rugbydick, Yea I saw their advert on Oilcareer in the past, I will attend if am still searching by September.

@Falkirk, I wouldnt mind an Onshore job, it musnt be offshore for now, The reason I wanted the offshore was just because of the additional leave days and the Pay. But if I see an Onshore thing now, I will take it with both hands.

@Smogmaster, I applied Stena in March and wasnt successful reason I believe was that the positions I applied for then where Derrickman and Assistant Driller and I dont have required tickets to get me onboard.

I could PM my CV to you or if u could chip in a word or two to the HR for me and see how it goes.

Some of the smaller contracting firms won't be getting bombared with as many CV's ass they big boys, so they might be worth a try. There are firms here now doing tasks like simple instrument calibrations, EX inspections and updating drawings.
Because their remit isn't as wide as a platform tech these roles don't need as much experience and can be a good foot in the door might be worth seeing if there are any small consultancies local to you who offer these services.

@Sugdenr Email sent

@Oliverd1981, I Concur to that, Locally here in London, I do search sometimes online but dont seem to get enough results.

It made me in the past to consider going for something like Instrumentation & Metering training or NDT Inspection training.. what put me of in the later was the fee for the course and the required months of experience before I could be awarded the certificate.

I still feel my best bet is to pay Aberdeen a visit soon and see how lucky I might get. ( even though I dont know any specific agency)

your location probably isnt helping

i struggled for ages to get a job offshore

moved to aberdeen in a bike mechanics job

within weeks i had an offer for a completions project engineer trainee .

i was fresh fish with mech eng degree.

@trail rat, definitely the location isnt helping matters, I will check cost and make out time to Aberdeen and see how it goes for me.

Thanks man!

There are jobs going at my work place in Rotherham. It wouldn't be regular rotation offshore work - more like when the project requires it but from what you've said, you may be interested in the project/commissioning engineer work that we do.

http://www.s3-id.com/careers/

Can you email me? paul dot wilkinson @ the web address in the url above. I'll get back to you on Monday.

@Paul, That will be great, I've just sent you an email.

I'm surprised you're struggling to get a job in the industry, they're screaming out for people. You should consider an onshore design role with some of the contractors like KBR, Foster Wheeler etc, with a degree you should get in as a design engineer and be London based, not that I know much about the electronic bits. You could also try someone like Konsberg, possibly as a trainee ship systems technician or something.

If you're still set on going offshore then I remember reading something about a recruitment fair sometime soon up here in Aberdeen, probably at the AECC, if I come across the details I'll post them up here.

@Squirreled, I dont have any preference be it offshore or Onshore. I have tried the companies you have mentioned except Konsberg which I will try to do now.

Yes, It amazes me too, cos I keep on hearing people saying of the staff shortage but the companies are a bit reluctant with the Fresh blood.

If you get any more info or suggestion pls dont hesitate to contact me please.

Many thanks.

I'm from an electronics and comms background and have been trying for years to get into the gas and oil industry with no luck what so ever.
then bumped into an old mate who sent my cv to his boss, a week later I had an interview then was offered a job the next day.
My mate and his boss had nothing to do with the electronics side of things either.

I had applied several times to the company before this too, seems knowing someone and being referred carries some weight

In the interview they made a big thing about starting from the bottom and making sure I was happy with being a trainee, learning from guys who were possibly younger than me etc

Not much help to you but thought I would share my experience.

OP, applying for Derrickman and AD roles maybe half your problem..no one ever walks into those roles off the street. You need to start off as a Roustabout (get your Greenhands and Banksman courses), you can move upto Roughneck in 2-3 years, then Derrickman another 2-3 years after that as long as you possess half a brain cell. Everyone starts at the bottom in the offshore world...i know guys earning £200k per year who started as cleaners and galley hands before working their way up through the ranks.

Service hand is another way in.....running completion, well testing , wireline engineer etc etc

Imo with a degree unless you really want to be on the hard work side your barking up the wrong tree unless you really want the driller experiance for going to be oim or drilling superintendant

Halliburton

Weatherford

Schlumberger

Kca deutag / aker solutions - what ever they are called these days

Baker hughes

Have you tried them ? I know most are looking as i get emails weekly asking me to apply for jobs with them.

With electrical engineering try the wireline or MWD companies Schlumberger, Halliburton/sperry or baker hughes,you could even go as low as Pathfinder or Weatherford MWD (though I am not sure how much longer Pathfinder will be in existence with the big blue owning them). Beware though, working in wireline you will be signing your life away for the forseable future. Forget all this production tech nonsense get in to the drilling side of things. You wont get a job as a derrick man, assisant driller without doing the time working upthe ranks, unless you sign on as a drilling engineer with one of the drilling companies, then you would be sent offshore as a graduate trainee.

Go onto any of the above companies websites look up MWD or wirleine and find a contact via that route, I suspect you will find yourself in a mucky pair of coveralls before you can blink.

Top tip , be willing to travel.

Much easier to get experiance abroad than in northsea. - and youll learn more quicker 😉

Thanks Guys for your feedback, I do appreciate them.

@All, I am more than Willing to start from the lowest and least position in a rig or an Oil & Gas company. I have in ceaselessly looked for Roustabout jobs online but I didnt find.

The only time I did was on KCADEUTAG website and they required some offshore experience.

The thing is that, I am more than willing to go for a Greenhand course so far it will get me a Roustabout job, being self sponsor , I dont want to invest in something and still back to zero.

These stuffs are quite harder to get a chance than its being said believe me.

@Smog, I used the Derrickman and AD as examples, cos they were the least positions I saw on your company's website and moreover Stena Vacancies is always Dated 2012 and I dont know when they are recruiting.

@North East Andy, You are really blessed, I pray that I can be offered such an opportunity as you had.

@ Edward, I have applied to the companies mentioned except Pathfinder which I will look up now and apply.

@trail rat, I have applied to those companies you mentioned.

About the travel stuff, I have tried applying to jobs outside especially The US but am always put off due to the Visa requirement.

I am trying to get offshore aswell. I have no degree though, I have a list of drilling companies that I will be trying, aswell as a good heads up from a guy I work with about a company who take on people with no experience..

I am currently an HGV driver with no real relevant experience, however I am very keen to learn, willing to start at the bottom and wanting to progress my career, I'm also used to working away from home so I suppose that's a plus, used to long hours aswell.

I have also heard that in alot of cases knowing somebody on the inside who can fast track you CV to the top of the pile can help, however I'm determined to do this so ill shall crack on and bombard them with CV's. I have an idea where I want to go with career progression aswell, just need somebody to give me a shot..

Bruneep.. If its ok I may email you and pick your brains about the courses?

EdwardH.. That sounds like good advice, I'll be looking into that.

Sorry to thread hi-jack but some very useful info on here.

If anybody has any pointers I'm open to suggestions and advice, my email is mikedonald@hotmaildotcom.

Your other option is to try Great Yarmouth as most of the service companies have bases there. TBH you are better off gaining experience in an onshore position before going offshore, especially if you want to work in electronics.

As mentioned previously, LinkedIn is a useful tool so make sure you have an up to date profile and follow the companies you would like to work for. Almost all of them post jobs there when they become available.

There is a huge skills shortage in the industry just now so don't give up, something will happen.

@Chief, Thx for the heads up and encouragement, I believe that I will be successful in the end.

@1981Miked, Am glad you gained from my thread, I will email you, hope you dont mind sharing some insight with me

You mention S club 7, have you also tried Technip, Integrated Subsea Services, Bibby offshore for the Stauration diving Industry they employ electronics techs and train them up to be dive technicians for looking after the ever more complex vessel based saturation/hyperbaric dive spreads.
Also the ROV/RSE industry is busy at the moment but every body is trying to get into that at the moment, and generally they only take on degree qualified techs if they have hands on experience 5-10 years on relevant trade hydraulics or electronics.

Technip
S club
Saipem/Sonsub
ISS
Fugro
DOF subsea
EMAS
Canyon
Deep ocean
Hallin
S3
ROV op
Mermaid
C Innovation
And many more

Cheers,

Scotsman.

@ Scotsman, Wonderful Man, Thank You Very Much!

Bruneep.. If its ok I may email you and pick your brains about the courses?

Yes

O and I forgot, Oceaneering the take on shed loads of trainees every year.

Emailed you bruneep.

That's a good list of companies Scotsman.. Any chance of them taking on a non graduate? Worth a CV and letter?

What's the best way to approach the CV application? Online or by post? I'm in Aberdeen on Tuesday so was going to hand some over in person.

Thanks.

Heard on local radio today , harris caprock are on a recruiting drive - they are comunications co so electronics might be of use to them 😉

@ Tail rat, Thx man, will check them out

You should consider an onshore design role with some of the contractors like KBR, Foster Wheeler etc, with a degree you should get in as a design engineer and be London based

+1

A few guys I joined with jumped ship after 2-3 years and now work offshore.

Having said that one came back tail between legs after realizing that despite the money and how good rotations sounded, the reality seemed to be hard work, long shifts, canceled leave, and if you got a boss you didn't get on with you were ****ed (as it meant longer shifts, and more canceled leave).

That and there's only so many instagram photos of oil rig sunsets and posts whining about the food you can post before all your facebook friends start taking the piss.

1981miked, on-line where possible and by post, you say you drive an HGV at the moment, what did you do before that, any mechanical or electrical or hydraulic skills, fixing tractors, heavy machinery, generators, pumps, trucks, cars etc.
Subsea construction from vessels have a varied base of positions from deck riggers through to offshore construction managers.
Yes all those companies take on non graduates, most of the time it is luck, if you send in your CV at the correct time and they have just landed a huge contract they will no doubt be looking for lots of people and if your CV has just landed on HR's desk you have a chance of getting a phone call, perseverance pays off in the offshore game.

Dunno tinas it is what you make it , ive had some grim times and equally some great times. Gne to places i never dreamed of going and places ill never go back to.

Beats sitting at a desk all day every day

Thanks Scotsman,

I transport Bitumen, fuel oil, Kerosene and other hazardous liquids so I have an ADR certificate to do this. This may help me as I understand the importance of appropriate safety procedures, I also use Hydraulic tipping gear for some loads, although I don't repair or advice them i have a reasonable knowledge of how they work and could easy get an insight from the technicians at work.. Not official I know but may be enough to show I have a transferable skill.

Mechanically wise.. I have worked in a bike shop, carries out basic maintenance on my truck at previous employers, again I know the basics of car maintenance.

How I wish I had a trade right now!!!

Thanks again for the feedback Scotsman, alot of companies seem to want you to apply online and upload CV's.. If that's what the want I assume that's the best way to go about it?

@trail rat, I can imagine how nice the experience and exposure.

@thisisnotaspoon, As I've said earlier, So far it is in the Energy Industry, I dont mind the Location ( Be it Offshore or Onshore ) cos am flexible

interesting thread chaps!

anez247 - good advice above. the best thing i have heard from you is that you are flexible and will take a start anywhere. Thats the attitude that will get you where you want to be.

Right now you are at the hardest stage, getting people to notice you. Perseverance is the key. Become a pest. Follow your CV up with a phone call and keep trying.

This job has some massive downsides but for me the time off keeps me doing it.

Im an NDT / Rope Access tech. I'm at the stage now where i don't look for work. Most companies know me and the way the industry is at the moment the supply and demand is working in my favour. BUT i had to do a couple of years abroad getting experience before i got a look in the North Sea. Saudi land rigs were probably the lowest point 🙂 but i was happy to do this as my long term plan was always to be in Scotland.

Good luck 🙂

@Mactheknife, Its good to see an NDT chap, Wanted to do MPI & LPI but the months of required experience put me off plus that I didnt know where to get them from also.

How did you succeed to get experience abroad? I wanted to try the US but the visa was a hurdle.

Check out the Offshore Europe website and look at the Exhibitor-Directory for company names and what they do; its a huge list of companies involved in the Oil and Gas game... [url= http://www.offshore-europe.co.uk/Exhibitor-Directory/# ]Linky[/url].

With an electronics background you should be able to target your calls and CV to companies who use these skills.

It pays to research what the company does so you can target the letter and CV to stand out from other applicants.

Thumbs up Messiah..

I worked for a company called OES for s while and they have contracts worldwide. TBH mate you are overqualified for this type of work. It's actually easy to do the courses and then get your tickets signed off after a year.

If down the line you do need more info on NDT drop me an email and I'll point you in the direction of training providers and companies they may give you a start with no experience. But again ours pretty hard work getting that first start.

@ Mactheknife, I will send u an email soon

@snegdnr,haven't gotten any reply from you yet man

This company has a London office, http://www.xodusgroup.com/careers/jobs.php

Thx BigJim

A vacancy for an assitant Engineer has been posted at my company in Aberdeen. This would not specifically be offshore work but may include some. Job is with one of the biggest verification companies in the UK/world.

Minimum requirements for applicants are HNC/HND (degree prefered).

If you are interested in the job spec or more info on the company my email is in my profile.

**For full disclosure my company operates a refer a friend scheme and if I wast to refer a sucsessfull applicant I would recieve a reward for this. **

Hey Rusty, YGM

Have a look at the classification societies e.g. LR, DNV, BV, it will typically be more onshore than offshore based, but they are a good start into the industry.

They key for me though is that you need to convince someone at interview why you want that specific role, saying you want to get into offshore / O&G isn't going to be enough.

@Dragon, Thx for the suggestion, I will look into them.

I wouldnt be applying to a company at the first place if I dont find anything specific that interests me about the company & its values :).

Still though, thanks again.

anez247 YHM back.

Copy dat Rusty

Email me in profile if you want me to organise a chat to our instruments guys

Just out of interest, if you wanted to get a job (any job) in off-shore oilrig work and were starting from scratch, what would be a good college/university course to attend?

I have a list of drilling companies that I will be trying

miked1981, good chance that i work for one of the drilling companies you are going to try.

Can't give you any promises, but if you want some advice my email is in my profile.

if you want some advice my email is in my profile.

Can I pick one or two info from you Futureboy?

anez, I just had this through from OilCareers:

Saudi Aramco, Shell, Fugro, Technip, and Transocean are some of the companies from across the oil and gas supply chain who have confirmed they are recruiting at the [url= http://comms.jobsite.co.uk/nl/jsp/m.jsp?c=936df6046c2d04540f ]Global Energy Career Expo Aberdeen[/url] taking place from 12th - 13th June 2013 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).

Fantastic cos I will be in Aberdeen on the 12th, Thx Caspian

Just booked my place!

Just to re-ignite my thread, still open to suggestions and advice. feel free to email me ( My id is on my profile)

Rowan are currently looking for Roustabouts:

http://www.rowancompanies.com/fw/main/Career-Opportunities-334.html

They have a couple of rigs going in for upgrades and then out to Norway and a few drill ships coming online soon so there would be loads of opportunities to progress fast with them (and hence earn very good money). Currently working on one of their rigs and the crew is fantastic.

Not to rain on your parade but I think you will struggle to get a position with an operator without a masters or a fair bit of experience.

@Iceman8, thx on the info, I will check them out

I think you will struggle to get a position with an operator without a masters or a fair bit of experience

YGM Iceman8

I went round oil and gas exhibition in 2011, got a job within 2 months. My wife followed soon after and got a job within 3 months. Everyone I know who has moved up to Aberdeen has got a 25k+ job within 3 months. (unemployment rate is below 2%) Once you're in, you move up, sideways and along. Annual pay rises are decent and if you live in the countryside and don't mind a commute, rents are below 500pm. I live within 5 miles of Pitfichie and have a 30 minute drive in. The trails up here are e m p t y and you can almost literally ride anywhere you want.

Try the smaller service contractor companies. I hear BP is still after people though. Look at Fircroft (recruiting agency) or Genesis.

Thx Dev, I will be in Aberdeen on tuesday for a week, coming for my trainings, I also want to attend the exhibition on the 12th as well, I hope to find a job as u did during the exhibition.

I've heard alot of success stories about the city, I hope to have one soon. Any advice on the exhibition day will be much appreciated too.

all good advice... 🙂

Thx Hill