ROV vs Instrumentation offshore career?

[colgy]

Hey guys, I don't want to start another 'how do I get offshore' thread, but I would appreciate any input!

I'm leaving the Royal Navy after 10 years as a chief technician/engineer and find myself with a couple of options. I've had some interest from companies and am looking at Instrumentation technician or ROV pilot/technician. The Instrument technician job looks like it pays more initially (a plus, but not the over-riding factor) whereas the ROV path looks like it might be more interesting; does anybody have any knowledge of career prospects in these two sectors? From info on the web, ROV pilot looks like a structured career path but lacks info on timescales beyond initial training. I'd like to avoid the dreaded 'dead man's shoes' when it comes to advancement so it might pay to do research now!

Any thoughts/comments welcome! And a shameless plug if anybody's interested....

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/craigmccolgan

[colgy]

Cheers guys, both very helpful replies!

Frank, when you say process, do you mean metering or production/control room operator? I had a look at that briefly, but the requirements seemed to be chemical/refining hydrocarbon qualifications rather than pure engineering experience. Metering seems to ask for experience in that field? The stability/time off for instrument tech appeals to me but would it be less challenging after a year or two? Just thinking out loud!

Chris, if I already had a decent knowledge of hydraulics and electrics what sort of timescale would be reasonable to progress to pilot tech I and ROV supervisor? I don't mind dropping my salary if I know there will be the opportunity to progress in the future.

Trips away would be a bonus in my book - don't mind the 120 hrs+ a week or going away just as long as I can get some time off after 6 or 7 months work!!

[colgy]

Some good points here, thanks for that! I'm still very interested in the ROV side of things although research on a popular ROV forum suggests that the pay isn't great until you have some experience behind you.

Phumy, I did consider that as I have experience in GT installation/Set to Work/defect rectification as the propulsion/controls tiff (Artificer) and really enjoyed it, especially on the controls side, but the problem is that there are no power plants near me. I'm not too keen on relocating straight away (although wouldn't rule it out) which is why I'm considering the offshore-rotational jobs where I can work away for a few weeks and then travel home. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be many GT jobs advertised online! Appreciate the advice though!

Streetrod, thanks for the heads-up! I've been offered an interview with Subsea 7 and applied with ISS too, so I'm making progress at the moment. I'm still keen to keep my options open as I can keep getting paid up until January, so I'll take you up on your kind offer!

[colgy]

Thanks Ug Lee, every little helps! Not bothered in the slightest about having to work a lot, I would be pretty chuffed to get under 300 days for a change! Interesting the timescale you mentioned; I had previously been quoted 6-12 months to get qualified - are you talking about the 100 hours required to reach PT1? I'm not expecting to match my Chief's pay as a trainee, but taking a £15k pay drop for 3 years would require serious consideration.

[colgy]

Yeah I heard about the extended deployments - and that there are planning on flying out people (who won't know the ship or the systems!) just for a maintenance period - that has disaster written all over it!

So I've been with the Subsea 7 for nearly 2 years and got promoted to PT after the 12 months (pretty straight forward if you've done hydraulics/mechanical/electronics before). The company isn't too bad, they don't pay the best, and a lot of people aren't to happy with the tax policy, but it's salaried and they have quite a few boats all over the world, so chances to get experience on varying projects and systems. Sub-Eng and beyond seems decent enough pay.

Job wise, it's not too bad - the construction can certainly be interesting. Only issue with ROV's is that you can be constantly busy; understandable, due vessel charter costs. Speaking to friends that work as production/instrument techs, those jobs may be slightly less busy on a day-day to basis? But having not done both, I can't really comment. As a Pilot Tech, you are very much bottom of the rung which may be a step-down, but as long as you have a decent attitude and remember that you're probably getting more money for less responsibility (compared to Chief's wage or 9-5 Aberdeen Project Engineer), it's not really an issue!

One thing I would say is, don't bother doing an ROV course, doesn't guarantee you a job and if the company want you, they'll pay for it. If you want to try ROV, you could always do it for a year or two to get qualified, do something else and come back to it if it didn't work out?

I'd quite like to get into Subsea Engineering, but haven't a clue how to do that without experience in the industry - does anybody have any suggestions on that front?

[colgy]

jshell said:

colgy said:

I'd quite like to get into Subsea Engineering, but haven't a clue how to do that without experience in the industry - does anybody have any suggestions on that front?

Up until recently Subsea7 were taking people from outside of the industry and training them as Subsea Engineers. Might be worth a root-around with the to see if it's still happening.

Thanks for that - unfortunately I think being already employed by the company might be a hindrance in this case. I'm considering doing the OPITO Subsea Engineering distance learning stuff, but not sure if it would be enough on it's own(ie without a degree in Subsea Engineering/experience in the role)?