Being an outgoing and sporty person really doesnt mean you are suitable for physical jobs at oil rigs..what more to be a roustabout or roughneck? their daily jobs sometimes are beyond your imagination...

In addition, an offshore environment sometimes may not be suitable to ppl who are too active as there's a lot of restriction at platforms and you got nowhere to go but to see the sea everyday...the most enjoyable things to do are smoking,eating and sleeping (unless newer platform with gym)..if u love ur work, then can count in working...

Now the routine is more to 2nd weeks rotation (2 weeks on and 2 weeks off)...no annual leave, no public holidays...emergency leaves with solid reason got la...im refering to technician positions...

things are not as simple as it seems....

One of my friend who used to be SLB as Drilling Engineer faced the samething..said that the routine is 2 or 3 weeks work then rest but end up 1 month at the rig then rest few days and go to another locations again...earning is fantastic with 5digit income monthly but got no time to spend and no time with family....then come the see the tax oso ....in the end,he opted for other onshore job with lesser pay and he said he got more life...lolz..

The thing u need to learn is networking in O&G...if O&G companies want to take you, they will give you plenty of training and it is very much depends on the area that they will assign u...is good to improve yourself with courses that you are interested rather than to cater to certain companies' needs...because if you are interested in learning what you like,you will portray your knowledge better if given a chance for interview..

Good 1..+1 agree

Most of the comments here are not to demotivate people..it is more like telling the truth and to let people know about the reality in the O&G rather than giving delusions to people..isn't it serve the purpose of this thread telling people who have not been in O&G about how the real O&G world is like? I thought many people want to hear the experiences that others have gone through in this industry and i understand that facts always hurt or rather demotivating (if you feel that way)...actually, no one is stopping anyone who has passion to go for what you want but before that, understand the reality by listening to experienced people rather than fantasizing about the good pay in O&G..

IMHO, many comments on roughneck/roustabout is because that job is extremely physical and tough beyond your imagination. If someone who has experiences in rough jobs posting that,i believed no one will make such drastic comments. However, if someone from an office job saying that, it is normal for everyone who has seen how tough is the job, to tell you that it is not as easy as you think. I can see no one is hiding that fact and for those who dunno should actually be glad that they can hear some honest response. No one is bragging how they have survive because in O&G, there is a lot of different areas of jobs but being in the field,we can see how roustabout/roughneck work...if you ask how is the job of a process engineer in O&G,you may get response such as it is an easy job or you will just sit in the control room looking at the computers and press some buttons when the alarm buzz....

it is all depends on how you look at the feedbacks that other people gave in this thread...

Yes, the world know how tough is the industry but do everyone really know the toughness in any specific areas in the O&G industry? No unless you have seen it or even better feel it..so people who share in this thread can give newcomers delusions by easily saying that the job is as easy as ABC rather than telling you the truth and how tough is being a roustabout (in the case of discussing about roustabout/roughneck). This is the kind of delusions that I meant. No one here want to mislead people or give any false hope to newcomers..As you can go through this thread, many positive and encouragement are given to Preakzz and she is a newcomer too..this is because some experienced people here has went through it and know that the job is good for her career...going from office work to being a roustabout is not a career move (at least in my opinion) thus there is some negative comment.

This thread is about Oil and Gas Career (Technical sharing and job opportunities) so it includes sharing your experiences/how is the working environment/how is the O&G company hiring/looking for people....I reckon that by having experiences shared by seniors in this thread is valuable especially to newcomers..wouldn't you as a newcomer who is passion in pursuing a career in the O&G want to know alot about the real environment and how's the job like in O&G? If this thread isnt about sharing and telling about job/environment experience in O&G then it is better to visit Jobstreet,Monster,JobsDB for more O&G job opportunities and just read through the job descriptions which most of the time is beautifully furnished...no offence..

No one underestimate newcomers strength and ability and no one said you can't try to be in O&G...there are many positions for you to go in...it is just that in our opinion that roustabout/roughneck is one hell of a tough job (refer to Materazzi's saying about oil riggers)...anyone can survive in the industry and so do you but it is all depends on what type of area that you want to go in and what position you are holding...you can be a material man in platform, which is more to control of materials in and out of platform, less physical...become a production technician, which is slightly more physical when there is work or be in the control room enjoying air cond....

Lastly, we do not think newcomers are silly to ask because at least, when don't know something, you are dare to ask...but after asking,all should be ready to accept all kind of feedbacks regardless of positive or negative...If we find it silly,we don't even bother to reply with facts...Pardon me for being harsh and putting in a long essay...Wish you luck to go in O&G but before that, aim for specific area that you can play your strength...