Yeah, the shortage of skills are usually in the subsurface side of things as not many people are taking G&G/PE in the university nowadays. You've got people retiring and fresh grads not coming in .... Most of the skills are learned on the job so it's not easy to train staff with other degrees either.

Now Gomen want to give 15% flat tax rate for all who works oberseas to come back to Malaysia .... hmmmm very very very attractive. Can buy 2 cars tax free some more .... so a BMW 5 series should be in the 250K range ..... ishhh ..... gatal tangan la ini macam.

Most established Operators will already have their "pipelines" i.e., students they have sent out under their scholarship scheme, be it local or overseas. Shell/Exxon/Petronas falls into these categories. Other "small" operators such as Nippon Oil, Murphy, Petrofac, Newfield, Carigali-Hess, are on the ROC PSC that they require a faster turnaround time for the development project and they require skilled personnel for most of their projects.

In O&G industry, you really need to look at the long term prospect. Basically you need to be able to get into the industry first, get all the relevant experience (I'm not talking 2-3 years, I'm talking 5-6 years), then you start cashing your chips.

Another way is to basically get a job with the bodyshop companies (those who supply manpower to the operators). After 2-3 years, you'll have enough experience doing all sorts of projects and maybe you can then join the big operators.

If you're an experienced drilling engineer, you can basically ask for whatever salary you want .... most now go overseas on a day rate of about USD1000-1500 per day on a 28/28 basis (work 28 days, cuti 28 hari).

My friend is a CEO of one of the companies that provides manpower to all the NOCs in Malaysia, Drilling Supervisors get A LOT of money. He was sigining checks for RM85K to RM120K for one of the supervisors (local not expat), then again, he's charging the NOCs a good sum for the service as well.

There are a lot of manpower agents in Malaysia. Google it and ye shall find it ... I can name a few (Uzma, Velosi, etc etc.)

I could not agree more with the post about experience. If you're a fresh grad, what you want to do is get your feet in the door. Don't worry so much about Salary and aim for the long term objective of getting as much experience as you can. Once your employer knows that you're someone who is willing to learn and work, then they will start giving you more work (don't complain). After 5 years, you will be marketable, after 7, you can even work overseas. After 10 years, you'll be golden. Those are the posts (as in milestones) that you want to aim for.

A degree in mchanical engineering and petroleum engineering is usually the ones hired for drilling department. BUT, most of the thing you will learn is at the workplace so sometimes as long as the employee sees that you're someone who is motivated to learn, they'll give you the proper training.

Good Luck.

I'm always a big believer in earning your experience. I started in one of the NOC straight from Uni and the pay was low (2K a month at the time) but I was eager I guess and was looking forward to learning all I need to learn. After 10 years, my salary was about 3 times my entry salary and opportunity was knocking at my door everywhere. Left the company for a place where my salary is 7 times my last salary .... just like that.

I believed that I got opportunity due to the experience that I gained from my previous employer. As long as you're willing to learn, not afraid to ask for projects, you'll be fine.

Patience and having your goal in mind helps

Thought I'd share with your the results of a Salary Survey for those in the Oil & Gas industry by Hays Oil & Gas  oilsalary2011.pdf ( 940.97k ) Number of downloads: 465

A software is just a tool. The most important thing is what the tool does which is probably what you should focus on when you write your CVs. There will be other software that does something similar to what you're doing. Don't just concentrate on the software part but concentrate on the product delivered by the software.

In my area of expertise, there are 3-4 leading edge software that does basically the same thing, so if you concentrate on the product it generates, then people can relate to what you're doing.

No such thing about that as well. When I was with an O&G company, we interviewed this one Chinese guy who had a PE degree. He graduated 2 years previously and we asked him, where are you working now .... he said in a Pet Shop ..... he was an eager and motivated person. His grades were good and he was willing to learn. We hired him and I am still in contact with him. I hear he's one of the team leader for one of the small oil field. I knew we made a good choice when we hired him.

Yes, as of 1st April 2011, those returning are eligible for 15% flat tax rate for 5 years from the date they return. Google Talent Corp Malaysia and you will see the incentives offered. You can also buy 2 CKD cars tax free so Mercedes and BMW that are locally assembled will be sold to you tax free.

The 15 pct flat tax is basically just that. Your taxable income will be taxed at a 15% flat tax rate instead of the graduated scale which goes to a maximum of 26% tax bracket.

This post has been edited by azraeil: May 3 2011, 01:04 AM

It depends. What company are you getting this offer from? If it's a multinational, maybe average, if it's Petronas, it's on the high side ...

For those looking to return, the link below explains the incentives being offered.

http://www.talentcorp.com.my/returningtomalaysia.asp

They've been saying this for a while but I haven't seen anything yet. I remembered one of the professional association pushing for it. I'm not what the Act entails other than making Geoscience a professional body like the engineers.

Stress levels are how you manage it. If you keep on nitpicking on everything (I know of one guy in my department who complains about every single thing) then, you're bound to be stressed out.

Once you have the expertise and experienced (be it from the client side/consultant side) then you're good to go. Drillers I know are especially high in demand and their pay is within the 1500-2000 USD per day on a 28/28 basis or 35/35 basis. If you don;t mind going to Iraq then the pay can go up to 2500 USD per day for the drillers.

I have a couple of friends who used to work in SLB and this is his word verbatim (which relates to what sungami has mentioned in his PM), they pay you 50% higher but expect you to work 200% more. He's been mobile for the last 7 years but now, he's happy with the company he is in especially with the family life etc. Enough of being a "pelacur murahan" (his word).

At the end of the day, once you're in your late 30's early 40's, then you need to know your priorities in life. There is no such thing as company loyalty. You need to be loyal to you and your family.

Huh? Midn telling me what you're trying to ask here?

Are you trying to ask if the petrol allowance is given to office workers only or given only to offshore engineers?

If that is your question then my answer would be ... it depends on the company.

Petronas gives Petrol allowance to the senior management (E4 and above) IIANM. Other companies I know give it to everyone (I know Talisman gives something like 700 a month plus Parking allowance as well, then again maybe it's given to those people on a different package then the locals)

Hope that answers your query.

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Added on May 10, 2011, 12:43 pmI wouldn't say that your message was ignored, it's maybe the case that not many people know the company. I've heard of Kenchana Petroleum but not Kenchana Pinewell. So that's probably why people could not answer your query.

This post has been edited by azraeil: May 10 2011, 12:43 PM

Any Exhibition or Conference is a good place to network and maybe submit your resumes. No harm trying. Don't just visit the booth as well, might want to ask what main business the vendor is doing and maybe have them explain their role in the O&G ... you learn a lot that way about the industry as well.

This post has been edited by azraeil: May 14 2011, 04:17 AM

My brother worked in Proton for close to 6 years (he has an automotive engineering degree) but decided to join the O&G 3 years ago. I used my network to get him an interview and he got the job. His Cum Laude (spelling) honors helped of course.

I would think so. That's why I put a lot of emphasis on networking. You'll never know when your old schoolmate or old colleague may give you a hand. That old buddy of yours may be one of the CEOs in the future or one of the Managers and it will at least get you an interview. Your performance during the interview will then be up to you.

This post has been edited by azraeil: May 15 2011, 06:33 PM

Which Uni did you get your PE degree from? UTM?

Have you tried PETRONAS? They are always looking for fresh PE graduates.