hello hi, interesting thread. looks like a lot of young msian are working all over the place. which is good.

for the past 1-2 years, salary of msia oil and gas line has gone up a notch nearing expat pays. it is normal for an office based engineer, with 12-15 yrs experience earning close to rm400-600 k a year, of course taxable. not in the middle of deserts, or exotic place like Libya etc; but at the comfort of of working in klcc twin tower.

you just need to be real good in what you do, whether you are geologists of engineers; remember only the specialized skills pay. that skills not so much of running equipment offshore, or run logs etc etc; but a skill that can identify whether the oils (or remaining oils) are. you need to do what people do not know how to do. and by that, i mean modeling --- either geological or fluid simulation modeling.

for those who work with services companies -- stay there for few years to pick up the skills and earn big bucks. then ask for office-based work. you can't stay out there forever. one day a younger stuff will be able to do what you are doing.

Zeusu ... let be honest, i do not think you would know your direction as you are just 1 year into the job market. you have to experience different kind of jobs for you to ascertain yr inclination.

but one thing, to be sure, it is always good (and i highly recommend) to join a major oil company like exxon, shell, murphy and the likes. you will get different perspectives and be able to understand the wholeness in the oil and gas industry, i.e from exploration to drilling and that knowledge will be very essential if you like to be in o&g for a long run.

i must emphasize again, the skills that able to locate oil, quantify the field/well production and lifespan will be the most "sellable" skills and will reward you handsomely. The very existence of oil companies is to find oil and these skills are highly sought .. these are the business drivers and drive all other things. Drilling, Logging, Production Operation etc etc are more like the "do-ers" that execute the business opportunities.

Zeusu .. i didnt read all notes in the thread .. not sure about yr background ... if you are doing LWD/wireline i see you can start building yr skills or expertise in log analysis, or becoming petrophysicist .. it is a skill which is highly sought after and right now there is an acute shortage in this highly specialized area.

no, i hardly (may be none) saw any LWD/wireline engineer turns into subsurface engineer (reservoir or petroleum).

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Added on January 4, 2008, 9:05 pm5 years? no no, 5 yrs is too short to become a specialist. you need more years than that.

from an E&P company standpoint, one won't be able to contribute INDEPENDENTLY with 5 yrs experience. Only those 5 yrs and above can start to bring money to the company.

talented folks, say in singing or poem writing, can be world class at a very young age. but in petroleum industry, you need to see enough, make a lot of mistakes, learn from mistakes, do a lot of stupid things, take reflections from it -- only then you can say: i have seen enough. each field, each well is so different that sometimes logic does not apply.



This post has been edited by pool: Jan 4 2008, 09:05 PM