I graduated recently with a degree in petroleum engineering, but with below average grades (the basis of rejection from big companies, and therefore an underlying assumption for the rest of the post). I have no hesitation starting with smaller, lesser-known companies, and even agree with your opinion that one may learn more (though this depends highly on the individual's motivation).

But see my dilemma here: for MechE, EE, ChemE etc. there are many small-scale companies offering work relevant to their degree. But for petroleum engineers, as far as I know there isn't a single small, local company hiring petroleum engineers to work as a reservoir/drilling/production engineer, at least not one that will overlook my grades (grades aren't exactly failing, a 2.8/4.0). Even Petronas's G.E.E.S program requires a 3.0. Hence I don't know where my "work from bottom" lies at. Unless it means foregoing a reservoir engineering career forever and working with service companies. This is a leading question to...if I work for a service company for 2-3 years, coming out of it will I be able to land an entry-level reservoir/production engineer job with operator companies? Working as a driller for a service company is fun, I agree, but if I had to choose between drilling and reservoir/production I would go with the latter due to the cyclical nature of the O&G industry. During times of less exploration, reservoir/production engineers stay employed, not so for drilling engineers

And would you advise against working non-engineering jobs (e.g. drilling technical assistant, field technician) for 1-2 yrs experience v.s waiting longer for more engineering opportunities? Again, would this affect my hiring chances as an entry-level drilling/production/reservoir engineer? I truly appreciate any advice you guys could provide.

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 4 2013, 04:32 PM

If by "job prospect" you mean the "oil and gas industry", then yes. Remember, like any other company they function on multiple levels: the operations level, the corporate level, the business level, etc. In a tiny oil and gas firm, it is possible that engineers make up the majority of the staff, but in a typical oil and gas MNC you will find a broad spectrum of workers e.g. accountants, financial analysts, technicians. Here, this job opening list for Baker Hughes, an oilfield service company, should give you a better idea of what I mean.

http://jobs.bakerhughes.com/my/malaysia-jobs

There's probably a lot of unfamiliar industry terms in use there, but if you click on each job link you'll be able to see the exact academic qualification needed e.g. Billing Analyst - Candidate must possess a Bachelor Degree in Accountancy/Finance or equivalent professional qualification (ACCA/CPA).

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 5 2013, 12:58 AM

I just want to avoid making an early career mistake while I still have time. But you're right, I don't have that luxury, and I do hate the feeling of being unemployed, so much. If I don't get an engineer position interview within 2 weeks I'll go for non-engineering jobs within the oil and gas industry.

Ah I totally forgot about the alternate route of grad school. The earliest I could finish at UTP (they don't seem to specify a minimum CGPA requirement) would be 1.5 years, but who knows how industry employment will be like then? People keep talking about an economy bubble burst. Our national oil reserves are falling faster than it's being replenished. Other MNCs may follow Newfield in exiting Malaysia to concentrate on their shale assets elsewhere. All this combined with the generally agreed on fact that Masters' holders have less job opportunities than degree holders (the "overqualified applicant" argument), I think I'll take my chances gaining valuable O&G experience during the 1.5 years, even if it's non-engineering related.

Oh yes, of course. With no replies from the E&P companies my next best would be oil service companies. Engineering/ construction companies like Technip and Aker seem to only want MechEs, and CivilEs. Basically my preference: E&P jobs > industry-related engineering jobs > industry-related non-engineering job.

Local or MNC, low (but not too low lah) pay or high pay doesn't matter much to me for my first real job. As long as the company provides a good platform to self-learn and decent mentorship I will take it.

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 5 2013, 12:49 AM

Ah are you majoring in a language or linguistics? I'm guessing language right? As far as I know, I don't think O&G companies hire language majors (or linguistic majors) for their skill set alone, but being a polyglot is definitely an added advantage for job applications. Almost every O&G company I applied to wanted to know how many languages I could speak/read/write. And I never thought I would see the day, but one company even described the ability to converse in a Sarawakian native language as an advantage (note to self: learn your native tongue already!!!).

That being said, and also bearing in mind that I'm not familiar with typical job prospects of language majors in Malaysia, maybe you should consider double-majoring to increase your marketability. And for god's sake save yourself some trouble and graduate with at least a 3.0 :-(

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 5 2013, 03:55 AM

I heard it from my observations and hearsay :-D

Ok I shouldn't have called it a fact, and it's still a much-debated topic. But it was obvious to me through all the relevant job postings that a degree was sufficient. Only in majors like Geology would a Master's be indicated, which is the industry norm. The way I see it from the companies perspective, is that a bachelor's degree is sufficient in proving that the individual is competent in carrying out the task. Why then should they employ the fresh MSc/PhD holder over the fresh degree holder, if they have to provide a higher salary. The value of a MSc holder is his depth of knowledge. Unfortunately some companies don't value this extra knowledge. In a high risk, high reward environment, yes the skills of a MSc holder would be highly appreciated, an example would be the field of reservoir engineering; you don't want to overestimate reserves and end up losing millions of ringgit. But for the bulk of jobs out there that are relevant to petroleum engineering; a bachelor's degree is sufficient. And I'm pretty sure it's the same scenario in the US; most PE students do the MSc program not to escape the horrible job search but because they're genuinely interested in research. Proof being that MSc programs have very high undergrad CGPA requirements.

Based on Salary's and your post, I stand corrected.

Look, be angry with me for making misleading statements, but there's no need to take potshots at my attitude; we don't know each other.
I just want to reiterate, I am VERY thankful for any advice provided. I maintain that I was merely being assertive and not obnoxious, but I will try to make better-informed posts in the future.

Thanks acgerlok7 and Azraeil. I definitely was not aware of Uzma Berhad and some of the others mentioned. Well, here's to hoping they check their emails regularly :-D

christ14 I'm from Miri too I have an engineering degree, but so far no leads from any company.
And keep searching, evolance7 said 2 months wait, but that's after first interview.

Hi Elijah, as a recent graduate still unemployed, I truly understand your frustration. I did badly my first two years too, and worked hard to bring it up to a 2.8. Weak students are all too familiar with the punishing whirlpool effect: with no chance to secure internships nor lab experience (heck, I even volunteered to work for free), the student is surely doomed unless he pulls off the herculean effort of raising his CGPA to a wow-factor level within a few semesters shy of graduation. So, I tried to make up for my lack of experience by working multiple part-time jobs while still a student (oh btw this is how I found out that I actually AM an awesome worker). In hindsight, I should have just used all that time to study harder. It was a case of misplaced priorities. I thought that graduating from a top-ranked engineering school, one of the best in my field of study, plus my work experience would at least secure me an interview.

I used to have many sleepless nights thinking of the unfairness of it all, the numbers game that is. Did recruiters even bother looking past my 2.8? Couldn't they see from my resume that I would thrive out there on the field? Did they even place any value on the quality of my education (kudos to Shell for being one of the few O&G companies in Malaysia to acknowledge this http://www.gradmalaysia.com/career-sector/...employer-want?) If they receive hundreds of applications, couldn't they afford to hire more recruiters to ensure a fairer evaluation instead of just implementing the CGPA yardstick? Questions, questions, questions...

...excuses, excuses, excuses. And I finally realized I was just giving myself excuses. I finally acknowledged that to some extent, I reap what i sow. BUT, I know I'm a hard worker, people told me so. I know I have work ethics, my past experience told me so. I know my low CGPA does not necessarily equate to weak performance on the field, far from it! My education alone allows me to understand concepts and applications faster than 95% of the O&G workforce. I know I will benefit the company that hires me.

The hiring system is not perfect. Rather than fighting against it, work with it. Maybe in the future, fix it. (I know I have some ideas but that's a long way off). But for the time being, work with it. There are so so many companies out there, if you take the effort to look. I keep finding new companies everyday to apply to. Look through all the Oil & Gas Careers threads. Ask around here, there are many experienced O&G people to look for advice. Check out "OGA 2011 exhibitor list" and cross-check on Google for existing companies. If salary is not a problem to you (which shouldn't be, considering the much-touted "quantum leap" after 5 years) you will be successful in your job search. You mentioned "decent O&G companies". Why not do some research on the small fish? Some companies may be cutthroat, but some may provide excellent trainee programs (structured or indirect) that rival those of the big fish. Have really specific targets? maybe try a headhunter too. Hey, if it gets you the job?

Constantly remind yourself of your self-worth. If you believe in your capabilities, you're already one step ahead. I've only been three weeks into applying, and I know there is a company out there that will see value in me. And boy, are they gonna Get Lucky.

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 9 2013, 05:47 AM

You are right there meonkut11, I did not network much in my university days. It could be inferiority complex, but at the time I did not see the point of networking if my academics didn't show for it. You could say I was ashamed. I decided to just work on bringing up my grades to a respectable level but it never did work out. Yes I did hang out with my seniors in university, but most of them are employed with Petronas, and the rare alumnis that I could find on LinkedIn, well let's just say I subscribe to the belief that any referrals should be based on the referee's knowledge of that individual's merits and strengths, and my low gpa doesn't help matters much. But like someone pointed out earlier, enough about gpa and grades, I've already had my little rant back there and what's done is done. For now I'm just getting back to the grind and hoping for the best. Thanks for the list of drilling contractors too, I will check them out!

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 10 2013, 07:53 PM

Hi,
What is the difference in the job scope for a drilling engineer working for a contractor versus one working for an operator?
Would it be that the operator DE completes the drilling design, while the contractor DE implements the design? So I'm guessing the contractor DE job is more hands-on, i.e. he has to smooth the paper design down for practical implementation as he is more well-versed with the drilling rig?

Also, is a contractor DE seen as less desirable by operators, and vice versa?

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 11 2013, 02:01 AM

I don't know your background, and this may introduce more unfamiliar terms. Well, it will. lolol
An overview online resource: http://www.rigzone.com/training/howitworks.asp

Sections are listed in alphabetical order so I recommend starting with:

Geology
Drilling Equipment + Drilling Support Services
Completions
Production <-- Probably most relevant for your dept
Workover

Piping, Floating Production System, LNG, can be next

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 12 2013, 07:11 AM

Apply to everyone, big or small, in anything you're even remotely interested in, now. Don't wait, you can worry about the job description and offers when you actually get them. You're already at a slight disadvantage with a one-year unemployment stint, unless you worked part time in something industry-related during that period.

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 12 2013, 03:14 PM

Hi guys, regarding getting my foot in the door: between a mudlogger and field specialist/technician, which of these two would provide for a more successful transition to a drilling engineer position, given that I have a petroleum engineering degree? Have you heard of this happening and is it highly dependent on work performance?

thanks for the reply meonkutu! you meant MWD/DD for specialist right? And apparently mud engineer is a completely different job compared to mudlogger, I just found this out recently too.

http://www.jobstreet.com.my/announcement/2...ra1vkeet_ms.htm

This post has been edited by heliosi: Nov 21 2013, 05:02 PM

Hi Acrylic, may I know what position you applied for? Was it the Fast-Track Engineers/Business Position? If yes, are you from an engineering or business background? I'm wondering if I didn't get through, seeing as you just got a reply

Gut feeling tells me it is a scam. Like SFF mentioned, one can check the list of companies on SSM. However, there may be a window period (daily, weekly?) between the actual date of registration and updating of SSM's database to include the newly-registered company, so there are exceptions to this method of verification.