ROV trainee offshore
Discussion
D1ATN said:
I have been taken on by a subsea company to be trained as an ROV pilot trainee, is there any other ROV pilots on here on what I can expect on my first trip? Looking for any good advice aswell as trip lengths and what kind of jobs I’ll be expected to do as a trainee.
Thanks
Dan
Sea sickness. Thanks
Dan
Oh and make the teas, swab the decks, searching for the golden rivet.
It can be a pretty tough environment. Depends on what vessel or platform you might be on. At the trainee level it is pretty crap. Most will have a joke at your expense and think nothing of it.
Presumably you will have some reasonable technical skills - that is likely to be your route through the inevitable hazing etc. Once people understand your technical merit the crap falls away. If you do not have that then it will be hard. Small team it can be easy or hard - team dependent, large team - it will be tough.
But any number of people have been through this and either decided to stick at it - or leave. Make the best of it you can and it will reward you. ROVs are used much more frequently and for much more demanding technical work than they ever were. Get in with a serious team and the work will absorb you.
Presumably you will have some reasonable technical skills - that is likely to be your route through the inevitable hazing etc. Once people understand your technical merit the crap falls away. If you do not have that then it will be hard. Small team it can be easy or hard - team dependent, large team - it will be tough.
But any number of people have been through this and either decided to stick at it - or leave. Make the best of it you can and it will reward you. ROVs are used much more frequently and for much more demanding technical work than they ever were. Get in with a serious team and the work will absorb you.
Hi Dan,
I've been in the industry for many years and there are some jobs that are less appealing than others but on the whole it is a pretty established industry now and ROVs are much more reliable and similar to each other than they used to be.
There are all abilities in the game and some characters for sure but the vast majority are a pleasure to work with.
I'm sure you will love it.
If I can be of any help feel free to email.
I've been in the industry for many years and there are some jobs that are less appealing than others but on the whole it is a pretty established industry now and ROVs are much more reliable and similar to each other than they used to be.
There are all abilities in the game and some characters for sure but the vast majority are a pleasure to work with.
I'm sure you will love it.
If I can be of any help feel free to email.
D1ATN said:
I have been taken on by a subsea company to be trained as an ROV pilot trainee, is there any other ROV pilots on here on what I can expect on my first trip? Looking for any good advice aswell as trip lengths and what kind of jobs I’ll be expected to do as a trainee.
Thanks
Dan
Not a bad industry to be in and there is a lot more work around this year and likely the next few than there has been. Trip length in the North Sea at least is normally 4 weeks, abroad can easily be a good bit longer. Be prepared to be bored for long periods with little happening especially if you end up as ROV support on a DSV.Thanks
Dan
Accommodation wise CSVs and DSVs are generally a better standard than a drill rig so best off on them if you get a choice. CSVs will have the most interesting work and be busiest of the options.
Good pay for ROV pilots, used to be around £500 a day, probably more now.
Few issues i remember:
They are contractors and are not cared about as much as the core crew is by the hiring company (ie the ship they are working on). You may end up being in a cabin with another person on the same shift as you which is horrible. Or you may end up on a ship where you get a cabin to yourself (very rare in drilling, more common in other sectors).
Speaking to the pilots, the job can be very boring, with long periods of slack time. Some pilots are also trained in electrical maintenance to solve issues with the ROV's.
You will also likely fly out to the rig on a chopper or possibly a supply ship, then be craned onboard. All high risk hazards and soon become a hassle after the initial excitement has worn off.
Few issues i remember:
They are contractors and are not cared about as much as the core crew is by the hiring company (ie the ship they are working on). You may end up being in a cabin with another person on the same shift as you which is horrible. Or you may end up on a ship where you get a cabin to yourself (very rare in drilling, more common in other sectors).
Speaking to the pilots, the job can be very boring, with long periods of slack time. Some pilots are also trained in electrical maintenance to solve issues with the ROV's.
You will also likely fly out to the rig on a chopper or possibly a supply ship, then be craned onboard. All high risk hazards and soon become a hassle after the initial excitement has worn off.
eniacs said:
Good pay for ROV pilots, used to be around £500 a day, probably more now.
.
If only. A lot of wages are down 20-40% depending on the sector of the industry you're in. I've been lucky that I've not had any decreases, but by the same token I've not had any increases. So taking inflation into account most people are on severely reduced wage compared to 5 years ago. Some positions have started to see a percentage of their cuts being given back but I'm sure you can imagine that companies are quick to take, and slow to give back when it comes to money and an oversupply of bodies willing to work in a depressed market. .
£500 a day (albeit it being away at sea) is a good screw for ROVs.
Nuclear (even people being away at power stations) was only around £200 a day when a friend was looking a few months ago.
He ended up on a ROV development team who are testing "spider ROVs" inspecting blade wingtips on electricity windmills. For the next year or so they're refining the technique on land windfarms, then next year into the windfarm off Barrow in the Irish Sea, before the role reverts to "shore based" and the ROVs are delivered by autonomous ships to the windfarms. When I asked him was he getting £500 a day his reply was "just about clear that a week". the industry for ROV drivers is being swamped at apprentice level by kids with 15 years PSx / Xbox skills as the OVs become easier and easier to drive. Will is fortunate as he has a degree in Mechatronics so can pick the contracts where he also does maintenance as well as being a ROV driver.
If you ever want an all night pub argument with will, ROVs have drivers as they are vehicles; but drones have pilots as they fly! Neither of them are operated by a "joystick jockey".
Nuclear (even people being away at power stations) was only around £200 a day when a friend was looking a few months ago.
He ended up on a ROV development team who are testing "spider ROVs" inspecting blade wingtips on electricity windmills. For the next year or so they're refining the technique on land windfarms, then next year into the windfarm off Barrow in the Irish Sea, before the role reverts to "shore based" and the ROVs are delivered by autonomous ships to the windfarms. When I asked him was he getting £500 a day his reply was "just about clear that a week". the industry for ROV drivers is being swamped at apprentice level by kids with 15 years PSx / Xbox skills as the OVs become easier and easier to drive. Will is fortunate as he has a degree in Mechatronics so can pick the contracts where he also does maintenance as well as being a ROV driver.
If you ever want an all night pub argument with will, ROVs have drivers as they are vehicles; but drones have pilots as they fly! Neither of them are operated by a "joystick jockey".
Allegro_Snapon said:
£500 a day (albeit it being away at sea) is a good screw for ROVs.
Nuclear (even people being away at power stations) was only around £200 a day when a friend was looking a few months ago.
He ended up on a ROV development team who are testing "spider ROVs" inspecting blade wingtips on electricity windmills. For the next year or so they're refining the technique on land windfarms, then next year into the windfarm off Barrow in the Irish Sea, before the role reverts to "shore based" and the ROVs are delivered by autonomous ships to the windfarms. When I asked him was he getting £500 a day his reply was "just about clear that a week". the industry for ROV drivers is being swamped at apprentice level by kids with 15 years PSx / Xbox skills as the OVs become easier and easier to drive. Will is fortunate as he has a degree in Mechatronics so can pick the contracts where he also does maintenance as well as being a ROV driver.
If you ever want an all night pub argument with will, ROVs have drivers as they are vehicles; but drones have pilots as they fly! Neither of them are operated by a "joystick jockey".
Just heard the above article on catch up iPlayer Radio 4, '39 ways to save the planet', broadcast (repeat) Saturday afternoon.Nuclear (even people being away at power stations) was only around £200 a day when a friend was looking a few months ago.
He ended up on a ROV development team who are testing "spider ROVs" inspecting blade wingtips on electricity windmills. For the next year or so they're refining the technique on land windfarms, then next year into the windfarm off Barrow in the Irish Sea, before the role reverts to "shore based" and the ROVs are delivered by autonomous ships to the windfarms. When I asked him was he getting £500 a day his reply was "just about clear that a week". the industry for ROV drivers is being swamped at apprentice level by kids with 15 years PSx / Xbox skills as the OVs become easier and easier to drive. Will is fortunate as he has a degree in Mechatronics so can pick the contracts where he also does maintenance as well as being a ROV driver.
If you ever want an all night pub argument with will, ROVs have drivers as they are vehicles; but drones have pilots as they fly! Neither of them are operated by a "joystick jockey".
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