Brinkman

I believe brinkman asked some us here on the forum in regards to his job opportunities.

Sorry for the late reply but didn't have much time to write a detailed explanation.

Break it down it looks like he has an option of between being in a general job role versus a specialist.

Everyone in every industry faces the same problem but since this is an oil and gas thread so will focus more on oil and gas.

Break down every career in the company into two roles

1. The general roles (mostly major companies)

2. The specialist roles (often smaller companies)

First, what is your career objective? If you have a specific career objective then it would make your choice easier.

If you want to be in the Management/CEO of an Oil and Gas company, your focus will need more general skills on business units and handling business aspects within your company. You yourself don't need specific skills on oil and gas but general knowledge and application of those general knowledge and main ---costing. Whatever anyone tells you, everything in this side boils down to cost and profits, especially in public listed companies because shareholders will chase the directors for more profits and the shit falls down to the management.

If you want to be a specialist say inspectors, metalwork, drilling, rotating equipment then tailor yourself to all possible knowledge and development to the said skills.

Secondly,

Is it possible to move between the two, say from general skill to specialist skill or vice-versa

The answer is yes.

It just depends on how you put in continual improvement to yourself just like your companies do with themselves. Take professional certs to verify your career progress.

Third,

Benefits

Like companies, employees also need monetary or equivalent rewards......

Fact of life = we work for money.

To earn more money you need to make more money!

Say if you start at RM 3000 and after 3 years experience at say a rate of 10%? increment a year your salary is about 3993. After you jump normally you can request rarely anything higher than 20-30%. Don't be surprised someone at your same position who have jumped every 2 years and in the same position as you is earning higher.

Always look at the total package including healthcare coverage and benefits, training cost reimbursement and benefits, professional development programs, company claims for travel etc.... look at both intrinsic and extrinsic values of your jobs benefits this could include etc. potential skills in new technology.

Some people factor in job security, company profile/brand name, project profile, position etc.. into benefit consideration.

Specialist often make more money than than most executives in general (source: refer to all salary statistics).

I am sure the other experts here will be able to add further to any of the above.

1. Its easier for a specialist to move to management. Vice versa is slightly harder because of individual adaptability. Imagine you're a manager then you move over to a Technical Authority position. Your roles, and especially responsibilities are harder and you face more risk as a TA then you will as a manager.

2. All leaders(managers/supervisors) need to earn the respect of their downline. This is not true, good managers aren't always technically inclined as most people think. However their understanding of the processes is what gives them an added advantage. Most of us leave our jobs because of our managers and higher pay. Rarely people leave their jobs because their manager doesn't know anything.

Urm I don't mind opposite views but I believe that an argument needs at least a little more understanding than simply reading a news paper article by journalist who sometimes don't even bother looking up on facts.

One journalist even wrote in RON 95 vs 97, that using RON 97 does not increase engine capacity! I hope those of you who knows a little about cars or are engineers understand the point I am making here.

Petronas suffered a drop in profit due to the fall in global oil prices.

I don't look into those indicators

Petronas profit margin in the first quarter of 2014 was ~32% compared with 2015 at ~25% with revenues dropping ~21%.
And lets not forget that crude oil prices dropped ~60% since that time.
This is not the problem. It actually shows that the management team are reflecting planning policy to reflect the new prices.

While operating expenditure for 2014 was ~62% of revenue and 2015~66%. While Petronas was quick to ask their vendors/contractors to take a pay cut, if prices stay like this for too long Petronas might need to stop being a charity organization and start being a company back again.
This is their single biggest problem. While revenue and profit took a hit, their operating expenditure increased by almost 4%. But remember this is quarterly report so it might reflect the actual picture. This is also the single point that takes down any company including MAS, and that why the German terminator terminated *pun intended*. So in a sense you have a point.

Well hydrotest is preferred over pneumatic testing due to a couple of reasons etc specification and equipment limitations or sometimes design limitations.

Some specs allow pneumatic testing only up to 2bars. To find out why you need to do your own research.
It is actually quite hard to maintain\hold air pressure.

Hydrotest can be above 100 bar on certain hydraulic lines. You will see this depending on projects you work on. Pneumatic testing can go way above 2 bar but refer to the limitations above.

Seriously? I cant understand people nowdays, do you just randomly pluck info from somewhere or make it as you go? Researching about your future doesn't hurt......

Correction 1 - 2017/2018 recession? hard to say, whats your justification? There could even be a recession this year in Asia(technically Malaysia could be entering recession very soon) ---- refer to China - (in Malaysia refer to 1MDB )
Correction 2 - big asian 1997 crisis fine. 2008! crisis you call mild? really? the effect can still be felt until today!

Like the crazy dude (supersound) who was talking about Libya(the African nation) blaming low oil prices for going bankrupt. Libya is going bankrupt due to oil theft, a civil war, ISIS, kidnapping,bombs......and the list goes on. The last thing that Libya will bankrupt for is low oil prices because their oil production costs are one of the lowest(if you been there you will know why). The country that is still somehow standing and is most affected by oil prices are Venezuela and Russia due to lower margins.

And the problem doesn't end there. Even Natural Gas prices are falling. With Iran's oil pumping full into the market and really demand is not going to rise because face it, vehicles/airplanes are getting more fuel efficient, powerplants are moving to non-hydrocarbon/renewable sources.

The industry will prevail and adjust to whatever the price is.

Like stamp said since this is oil and gas career thread will provide you advice on career, not an expert but speaking from statistics and common sense.

Most resilient sector in the O&G is Production/Maintenance/Operations -------re-skill into this sector because the jobs are still there. Justification - while companies can cut all other budget to save cost P/M&O is their main focus and expenditure for revenue, they might cut headcounts but not as many and they might hire cheaper labor (fresh grads) to replace more expensive ones.

Worst sector Exploration/Drilling -- its just not worth paying so much to drill wells anymore. However if you can re-skill to shale/fracking, whatever people say onshore drilling is still cheaper than offshore drilling and will survive.

Those who are all gloomy about the job markets, well there are lesser jobs now but still many skilled position are hiring internationally. Do not do just one job for all your life. like ch_teo said build different engineering skills and experience.

This post has been edited by BillySteel: Jul 24 2015, 03:27 AM

I don't think his calculation works actually if not he wont still be in Malaysia, he will be here across the Pacific enjoying his millions like Jho Low.

Gua tak faham. You have been a QC inspector and an offshore PMT and you still ask questions like this?

You, given your experience and background in an EPC should know by now what certs are in demand right?

Normally people like you will probably ask if should sit PCN or CSWIP. Try to join NDT company first. Cert with no experience too many in the market right now and NDT can pay you basic as low as RM900 (minimum wage) and site allowance at RM8 per/hr

This post has been edited by BillySteel: Sep 11 2015, 06:23 AM

I am not angry, I am just flabbergasted really how an engineer after working one and the half year in the industry as a QC and PMT in an EPC not know about how their industry work(NDT/Welding-related to QC, PMT basically you are involved in every stage).
You should know what certs are in demand because urm........ you know the people approving/requesting these certifications come from QC and PMT!
You can always talk with your seniors and I am sure they have lots of advice for you on current market trend.
Sad for the future of engineers in that region.