good salary for a mid 20's person
Discussion
Condi said:
Its sad that this self indulgent topic about something which doesnt matter to anything other than the person posting has reached 16 pages.
I think it's been quite interesting to read about people's perceptions and expectations. It also demonstrated that money is not the main motivator for a lot of folk. Stu
Edited by stuno1 on Tuesday 11th November 06:22
swerni said:
Yes. Have been thinking of this theory when reading a number of posts in this thread.Stu
Aberdeen has a very high population of young high earners.
Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
MitchyRS said:
Aberdeen has a very high population of young high earners.
Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
Agree with most except from the 'university accounts for nothing' part. I have noticed the difference on both Operator and Service side. Just my experience. Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
Nowadays - not many drilling/completion supervisors, on shore, or offshore are without degrees. (maybe a few more than have been around since day 1, but I mean with less than 15yrs experience).
Same in Scumberger or Hall, if you want to go down field supervisor in Slb wireline, for example, you have to do everything as a grad. Planning, execution, in house with client. If you want to do Account Management / Project Engineer then most will have degrees in these companies.
I am sure there are some examples to disprove this, but there always will be. I know some too.
AyBee said:
Condi said:
Its sad that this self indulgent topic about something which doesnt matter to anything other than the person posting has reached 16 pages.
Feeling inadequate? 
How about a 'how many cool things have you done by your mid 20's?' thread. Would be far more interesting.
mikerons88 said:
MitchyRS said:
Aberdeen has a very high population of young high earners.
Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
Agree with most except from the 'university accounts for nothing' part. I have noticed the difference on both Operator and Service side. Just my experience. Not unusual for mid 20's somethings to earn circa £70-80k
One of my work colleagues young lads has just turned 20 and earns £84k for a 3/3 rotation as a Hydraulics Technician with one of the big drilling companies, as long as you get that break and your face fits, then North Sea salaries are exceptional and a good path to go down especially if you are of a trades background. University education in the O&G industry generally accounts for nothing so guys are leaving school at 16, straight into oilfield companies as apprentices and then earning more than doctors and dentists by the time they themselves have finished higher education.
I would say if you're earning double your age in salary then you're doing pretty well. £100k for a 45-50yr old has to be something to aim for.
Nowadays - not many drilling/completion supervisors, on shore, or offshore are without degrees. (maybe a few more than have been around since day 1, but I mean with less than 15yrs experience).
Same in Scumberger or Hall, if you want to go down field supervisor in Slb wireline, for example, you have to do everything as a grad. Planning, execution, in house with client. If you want to do Account Management / Project Engineer then most will have degrees in these companies.
I am sure there are some examples to disprove this, but there always will be. I know some too.
Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Zoobeef said:
You 2 may be more up to date than the rumour mill. Currently in the forces as an engineer/mechanic and thinking of leaving. I have to work 12 months notice though which is an extremely pain in the arse for securing a job before quitting.
Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Extremely difficult, it is a very hard industry to crack and more of a who you know, not what you know industry. To get into a fixed rotation system offshore takes luck, a lot of luck. Most guys start off onshore in the yards getting to know the equipment and tools before going offshore on ad hoc duties to get experience and then applying for fixed rotations once they have done a year or 2 on ad hoc duties.Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
Condi said:
God no, I have enough life experience to know that 'richness' and 'happiness' have very little to do with how much you earn.
How about a 'how many cool things have you done by your mid 20's?' thread. Would be far more interesting.
How about a thread dedicated to those who worked relentlessly through their 20's, earned a ton of cash, retired at 32 and are spending the rest of their entire lives doing 'cool' things.How about a 'how many cool things have you done by your mid 20's?' thread. Would be far more interesting.
Even more interesting.
MitchyRS said:
Extremely difficult, it is a very hard industry to crack and more of a who you know, not what you know industry. To get into a fixed rotation system offshore takes luck, a lot of luck. Most guys start off onshore in the yards getting to know the equipment and tools before going offshore on ad hoc duties to get experience and then applying for fixed rotations once they have done a year or 2 on ad hoc duties.
Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
Informative post for someone like me whose in the industry (onshore). I tried to get a job offshore straight out of university (having put myself through BOSIET/MIST/Banksman & Slinger Training) but to absolutely no avail. Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
Ended up with a decent office based job but without any vocational training it'll be hard to get a start offshore if/when I leave this job.
MitchyRS said:
Extremely difficult, it is a very hard industry to crack and more of a who you know, not what you know industry. To get into a fixed rotation system offshore takes luck, a lot of luck. Most guys start off onshore in the yards getting to know the equipment and tools before going offshore on ad hoc duties to get experience and then applying for fixed rotations once they have done a year or 2 on ad hoc duties.
Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
Cheers, certainly different information than what comes from people's "mates" who I work with. I may spread my CV further afield to Saudi and the like,maybe even back towards Afghan. I don't really mind where I work if the money's good and I get at least some chance to do a trackday or too.Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
I may put some feelers out through those mates of mates and see if they can direct my CV in the right direction. Think I would need a couple of backup plans though if I do put my notice in!
Thanks again!
Zoobeef said:
You 2 may be more up to date than the rumour mill. Currently in the forces as an engineer/mechanic and thinking of leaving. I have to work 12 months notice though which is an extremely pain in the arse for securing a job before quitting.
Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
I would say you stand a much better chance with that background. I wouldn't want to put odd's on it but I would say quite a lot better.Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Many of the companies target ex forces staff. You need to keep your eyes and earns open to specific oil shows/networking opportunities.
I, like others here, got my food in the door via a contact, was lucky to get into the right departments which allowed me to switch companies quite easily and improve income. It wasn't for free and it didn't come with quite a lot of stress of working with difficult people in the early days and a lot of hours which when you calculated my hourly rate, it wouldn't of been that high. I then moved abroad for a couple of years and that's when it all became worth it...
MitchyRS said:
Zoobeef said:
You 2 may be more up to date than the rumour mill. Currently in the forces as an engineer/mechanic and thinking of leaving. I have to work 12 months notice though which is an extremely pain in the arse for securing a job before quitting.
Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Extremely difficult, it is a very hard industry to crack and more of a who you know, not what you know industry. To get into a fixed rotation system offshore takes luck, a lot of luck. Most guys start off onshore in the yards getting to know the equipment and tools before going offshore on ad hoc duties to get experience and then applying for fixed rotations once they have done a year or 2 on ad hoc duties.Working on the rigs or ships in something to do on the mechanic side of things or hydraulic is where my focus lays.
My plan is to send my CV to a few companies and await the response and then judge if I should risk my mortgage and family by putting my notice in before securing a job.
Are there many ex forces that work in that area? What sort of responses would I be looking at?
Cheers.
Entry level positions are flooded, the recruitment firms in Aberdeen are overloaded with CV's, speaking to a recruiter not long back, around 1500 CV's for every entry level position. The entry level positions require all your certificates to be done first hand, not just your survival and medical but banksman slinger training too, no certificates, no chance of getting that first trip. To make it even more difficult, the majority of adverts, some 90% will ask for experience required of an offshore drilling platform even for entry level roustabout positions. What they mean by this is ad hoc trips primarily with service companies (from working in the yards)
I don't want to put you off but cracking the offshore industry is extremely difficult, Survivex/Petrofac etc train hundreds up every week in their survival certificates, every single one of them is after the job you'll be applying for. It's absolutely bonkers and oil companies take advantage of the desperation of people by offering in some instances poor pay, poor working patterns and then kicking you out the door when they're done with you. Winter time sees a lot of job losses, only for them to actively recruit again a few months later. Oil companies at the moment are shedding a lot of staff due to the falling price of oil, all those being made redundant obviously trying to re-secure jobs back in the oil industry, more competition.
Unless you know someone that can put your CV on the right desk, I would say your chances of getting offshore are less than 1%. If you move to Aberdeen and opt for an onshore yard role, then you will get offshore eventually by going down that path if there's a requirement for you to do so. Not everyone in the yards get offshore, not all yards have a requirement to go offshore.
As said, it really is a who you know, not what you know industry. Yes, there are a fair few ex military in the oil industry, it certainly helps coming from a Mechanical background mind, for example a REME aircraft technician (Army) your CV would then become a little bit more attractive (But instead of battling 1500 others for that one position, it may bring you down to 1 in 50)
Some guys are lucky, most guys are not. I certainly wouldn't risk another career in the hope unless you were prepared to upsticks and move to Aberdeen and be on the doorstep.
Take from that what you will, it's only advice on how difficult the market is to crack but you never know. (I'm an offshore Engineer)
Get to know the kit and you can support it offshore - managers/supervisors and the like are still required to support onshore and are paid the same rates overseas, but at a percentage of base so they tend to be a little more.
New projects have to satisy local content laws, so equipment is now flat packed and shipped to countries for assembly, so we now have on-shore expat fitters assembling equipment in all parts of the world.
I dont understand why people immediately think you should target "rigs" to get into the oil and gas business. We also have a huge manufacturing side so normal manufacturing rules apply. All tools run offshore require refurbishment onshore so there is a constant turn around of kit all with backups.
I have been in this business 7 years, never been offshore and hold no certificates. Infact the number of offshore experienced customer reps I see with no manufactuing experience is shocking, they supervise with no clue about procedures or API standards - running tools is a lot different to building and stripping them because we have more standards and higher quality/procedures.
Edited by e8_pack on Friday 14th November 17:09
Joey Ramone said:
Condi said:
God no, I have enough life experience to know that 'richness' and 'happiness' have very little to do with how much you earn.
How about a 'how many cool things have you done by your mid 20's?' thread. Would be far more interesting.
How about a thread dedicated to those who worked relentlessly through their 20's, earned a ton of cash, retired at 32 and are spending the rest of their entire lives doing 'cool' things.How about a 'how many cool things have you done by your mid 20's?' thread. Would be far more interesting.
Even more interesting.
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