What are my chances?
Man, do I get asked that question a lot. "What are my
chances", "Here's my resumé, what do you think?", ya da, ya da,
ya da, and on and on.
First, let me make it perfectly clear that Offshore Guides is not an
employer. We do not hire anyone to work in the offshore / oilfield / maritime
industry. If you do not fully understand how this site works, please go
here.
This site is a very straight forward site. I walk you through the process
step by step. Many people have used my advice and gotten an offshore /
oilfield / maritime job. I've found over and over again that the people who
are successful are the people who follow instructions and are persistent in
their efforts to obtain employment. But, most importantly, they realize it is THEIR
RESPONSIBILITY and not ours to make this happen.
Not everyone is going to get an offshore job, just like not everyone is
going to be Mick Jagger, Michael Jordan, play in the NFL or win the lottery, and that is just
the way it is. If you are interested in working offshore, this is probably the
best site you will find anywhere about what it takes to get on, written from
first hand experience.
BUT
YOU have to take the initiative. YOU have to get your resumé / CV in
order, YOU have to make the contacts and send it out. YOU have to do the
follow up work. YOU have to go for the interview. We will point you in
the right direction, but the rest will be entirely UP TO YOU.
I've found there are two basic types of people who register with us.
- People with initiative, drive and determination who take my advice
seriously.
- Lazy whiners who just want to cry about why they don't have a job and
refuse to take the responsibility of doing anything about it.
It's gotten
quite easy to tell the difference between the two. I am a professional, my
time is valuable and I don't waste it. My efforts go to people that are willing
and able to help themselves, who fully understand how this site works and are
dedicated to do their part.
Your chances of working offshore depend on a lot of
things, most of which I have absolutely no control over. If you live in the
continental United States, opportunities abound. There is no reason for you not
to work in this industry if this is what you want to do. If for some crazy
reason you do not think there are jobs available, then have a look at the current
employment outlook.
I know what the opportunities are in the Gulf of Mexico region, I see them on
a daily basis when I am at work. As for the rest of the world, I cannot
pinpoint who is hiring in this or that country at any given time.
I can tell you what rigs are working in different parts of the world.
Drilling activity is currently going on in Eastern Canada, Eastern Europe, the Far East,
Latin America, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the North Sea, the Pacific Rim, Southern Asia and West Africa.
Each of these rigs has a crew of nationals (people from the country the rig
is drilling in) and expats (people from many different countries) working on them.
The crew ranges in size from 40 to about 160. There are 2 crews on board at any
one time, all working a 12 hour plus tour or shift. The other crew is on off
time. So in actuality, there are 4 complete
crews (of 40 plus per crew) for each rig, two for each rotating hitch.
PLUS, wherever these rigs are working, there will be dockside facilities,
crew / supply / utility vessels, helo's, and a wide range of other support
operations which have to be available for the rig to work.
When oil is discovered at the locations these rigs are working in, platforms
have to be built, erected and staffed and underwater pipelines have to be laid
to get the crude to offshore embarkation stations and / or onshore refineries.
These are monumental tasks, requiring the effort of thousands in many different
professions.
The turnover rate in this industry is horrendous, probably more so than any
other industry. Lots of times people complete a hitch, go home, and for
whatever reason just don't go back. Rigs are required by law to have a certain
number of qualified people on board for every job classification. If this
requirement is not met, the rig is not supposed to work but many still do.
Offshore drilling is a critical element to the survival of society. Companies like to have lots of personnel on file, in case
there are crew shortages (which there are a lot of). I cannot
tell you which rigs are short handed at any given time. I can tell you that if
you want to work in this industry, the more companies you have your resumé on
file with the better your chances will be.
Offshore drilling rigs are currently working around the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. The below list shows which countries rigs working in, and how many are
working in each country. This list is only for accommodation platforms,
drill barges, drill ships, inland barges, jackups, submersibles,
semisubmersibles, workover rigs, rigs under construction and tenders. A rig is referred to as
a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU).
The list below does not cover platform installation projects, production
drilling platforms, offshore pipeline installations, repair / painting operations,
demolition operations, supply / crew / utility boat operations and a wide range
of other oilfield related activities.