Meet Cpt Ron

I didn’t learn the offshore industry from behind a desk. I learned it working on drilling rigs around the world.

My offshore career started in the late 70s. I was a young welder, fresh out of the Army, looking for an opportunity and trying to get my foot in the door.

I found it.

My first offshore hitch took me to Brazil, where I worked as a welder on a platform off the coast of Aracaju. That first opportunity became the beginning of a career that would take me farther than I ever imagined.

Over the years, I worked aboard semisubmersibles, drillships, jackups, and other offshore installations in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, West Africa, South Africa, Norway, the North Sea, and off the West Coast of the United States.

I learned the industry from the deck up.

I saw people come and go, worked my way through different positions and operations, and learned firsthand how offshore operations actually work…

And just as importantly, I learned how offshore companies hire, what they look for, and what it takes to get your foot in the door.

Everybody Has to Get Their First Break

I didn't start offshore because I knew somebody at the top or had some carefully planned career path.

Like a lot of people trying to get offshore today, I was looking for somebody willing to give me a break.

Once I got that break, I made the most of it.

That experience has stayed with me because I know what it's like to be on the outside trying to figure out how to get in.

The hiring process has changed dramatically since then, but one thing hasn't changed:

• Nobody was born with offshore experience
• Everybody offshore had a first hit

How Offshore Guides Began

When people found out I worked offshore, they naturally got curious.

You'd be surprised how many people, even today, don't really know what working offshore means. So they'd start asking questions about the rigs, the work, what it was like living offshore, and how the schedule worked.

Then came the big question:

“Well, how much do they pay?”

When I told them I started out making about three times as much in one week offshore as I made in a month at my land-based job, that usually got their attention.

And when they heard “I only work two weeks out of the month,” well, that was usually the clincher.

The next question was almost always:

“How can I get on?”

So I'd tell them.

I'd explain where to look, what kind of jobs were out there, what companies to contact, what they needed, and how I had gotten my own start.

I told that story so many times I finally got tired of telling it.

There had to be a better way.

So I decided to write it down.

In 1978, I published my first offshore employment guide, Employment Opportunities in the Offshore Drilling Industry.

And that, more than anything else, is how Offshore Guides eventually got started.

In 1981, I followed it with The Complete Offshore Employment Handbook.

Then came the internet.

In 1998, I put OffshoreGuides.com online and began using the website to help people understand the offshore industry and how to find legitimate employment opportunities.

A lot has changed since then.

Applications moved online. Company career portals replaced walking into hiring offices. Résumés became searchable electronic documents. Screening systems became part of the process. The qualifications employers require have changed, and the ways people find and apply for offshore jobs have changed with them. Offshore Guides changed too.

Why I'm Still Doing This

Today, OffshoreGuides.com is built around the same idea that started all those years ago:

Help people understand the offshore industry, where they fit, and how the hiring process works before they start applying.

I can't get anyone an offshore job, and I can't guarantee that an offshore company will hire you.

What I can do is share what I've learned from decades of working offshore and years of helping others understand the process.

That's also why I wrote Your Pathway to High-Paying Offshore Jobs.

It brings that experience together into a practical guide for navigating offshore hiring today, from understanding where your background fits to finding companies, preparing yourself, applying, interviewing, and avoiding scams.

But whether you buy the book or simply use the information here on OffshoreGuides.com, my purpose is the same:

To help you understand what you're getting into, know where to start, and make better decisions about your offshore path.

Still Have Questions?
The Offshore Guides website and Your Pathway answer many of the questions people have about getting an offshore job.

But every situation is different.

If you still have questions, reach out. I’m just an email away.
Email Cpt Ron