This
book was originally written in 1976. Before the internet was
anything more than an idea in someone's head, if even that.
It began as a guide to help non experienced people find work
offshore. From that small beginning it is has grown to be
one of the best sources available anywhere on how to use the
internet to work in the offshore / maritime industry.
Offshore
is a great place to work. Of all the jobs
I've had, working offshore is at the top of the
list. It was work, but it was fun and meaningful work and paid well. Sure,
there were times when it was not so fun, times when it really
sucked, and times when I easily could have lost my life. But even with
that I would not trade those experiences for anything.
Offshore
work is not for everyone. It takes a special breed of person
to endure the hardships of being away from home in an isolated
environment working in an industry that life insurance companies
consider to be one of the most dangerous in the world.
-
Normal
work schedules are 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, week
after grueling week.
-
Some
schedules are "can till can't". You go on the job and
stay until you can't stand it any longer".
-
This
includes bad weather, cold weather, hot weather and all in
between. There is a saying that "it never rains in
the oilfield and every day is like Sunday".
-
Sometimes
your working conditions are poor, the food is terrible and
management sucks big time.
It's not for everyone. You'll either love it or hate it, and
it won't take long for you to make up your mind. One thing is certain, you'll never forget it.
This
book is an ongoing work. I add to it when I can. Any if you
any contributions about working offshore you would like to
make to this book we would love to hear from you.
Getting one
of these jobs is not rocket science, especially is you live in
the US. This
industry is always in need of good people. ALWAYS.
The
offshore drilling industry is one of boom ore bust. It has
always been that way. Thankful to say, we are currently,
coming out of a bust. Recruiters are reporting shortages of
dependable personnel. Several hundred new jobs are being
posted throughout the internet every week.
All
of the rigs will need 2 complete crews
each when they come off sea trials. In addition to rig orders,
there are numerous orders for supply, crew, and utility vessels
to service the rigs. These vessels will need crews; deckhands,
able bodied seamen, mates, engineers, mechanics, electricians,
oilers, captains, cooks, galley hands, medical personnel and
more.
There
is construction, fabrication and erection of offshore production
facilities many miles offshore. This requires massive barges
with huge deck cranes, called derrick barges, and takes weeks
and even months to complete involving hundreds of people in
a vide variety of jobs. When the platform is erected, then
miles and miles of underwater pipelines have to be fabricated,
installed and connected to onshore refineries. Needed are
engineers, supervisors, crane operators, welders, fitters,
riggers, electricians, mechanics, laborers and experienced
maritime deck personnel.
And
all that is just THE NEW STUFF coming down the pipeline. There
are thousands of rigs, boats and vessels currently working
worldwide in this industry. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
week after week, year after year.
On
any given day, many are shorthanded. In fact, it is not uncommon
for some offshore operations to be shut down due to a shortage
of key personnel. Every day recruiters are looking for hundreds
of people to fill a wide variety of domestic and overseas
jobs, both entry level and experienced.
Because
of the isolated nature of the work, there is always a high
turn over. There have even been times when entire crews failed to show up for crew
change. For those of you who are entry level with no prior
experience, companies spend millions each year to find, train
and promote people who want to work in this industry.
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