Oil Rig Employment: What Should You Do Before You Get Hired?
Working on an oil rig is rarely considered a career. However, the prospects for workers finding employment on oil rigs are very bright for the next decade. Demand for oil remains high from first world nations and gigantic economies that were once third world nations such as China and India are also gobbling up oil insatiably as they rush to join the ranks of the nations. from the first world. Until new oil rigs, pipelines, refineries and warehouses are built, supplies will remain tighter than the world has been used to over the past decade.
While the job prospects on oil rigs are bright, that doesn’t mean you can just show up at the door of Shell’s human resources office and expect to get a job. It’s not as easy as some oil rig jobs and shipping sites would have you believe. Oil and gas companies may be desperate for staff to man their oil rigs, but that doesn’t mean they’re relaxing their safety standards. This is not because they are good Samaritans. Most oil companies are subject to the laws of the countries where their offices and oil rigs operate. And mid-ocean oil rigs are partly governed by international treaties. Also, they don’t want some fresh-faced jerk to make some mistake and damage their precious multi-million dollar oil rig or cause an oil spill that could lead to multi-billion dollar fines. It’s just not good business practice.
Most companies give some form of training. After all, not all oil rigs work exactly the same. Even if you have some prior oil rig experience, they want to make sure you know the details of the rig they put you on. In addition to on-the-job training for your duties aboard the oil rig, you typically also need to have some sort of offshore medical certificate, offshore survival certificate, and helicopter submarine escape training certificate. The exact form of the certificates depends in part on the company you work for and where you are deployed. Also, you may be required to have an up-to-date passport, visa, and vaccinations.
If all of these legal requirements seem pretty daunting, you should consider being hired for a job on an onshore oil rig. The perks won’t be as great as an offshore oil rig, but there are fewer dangers and you gain valuable general oil rig job experience. Once you are comfortable with your level of experience, you can move on to the additional challenges of an offshore oil rig. Doing it this way also makes it easier to find out what other legal requirements and certifications you must meet. Also, your employer is more likely to pay for your certifications.
Demand is hot right now. Make sure your bags are packed and all your other issues like automatic mortgage payments, phone bills, etc. are taken care of. If you applied for a job abroad, make sure your passports and visa are valid. If you are hired for the job, your boss will want you to move immediately, preferably within hours of notification. You don’t want to be in the middle of the ocean and then remember that you forgot to pay your house or any local taxes because you were in too much of a hurry for time.
Basically, if you are serious about oil rig employment, get all required legal certifications and requirements for your jurisdiction worked out in advance. The oil industry is hot right now, and employers don’t have time to wait for their workers to sort out their issues.
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