Oil & Gas guys...

[der1]

Long story short, few people on here have helped me out with O&G related stuff.
Meant to be starting my degree in September at RGU (mechanical)

Some family issues may put a spanner in the works until next year.

I might be being stupid here but I'm 24 in March and I presume I would be roughly 29 when I finish.

29 too old to start in O&G or am I being a numpty here?

Cheers

[900ssduke]

You should have no problem at 29 if you get a decent degree. Try and get some relevant work experience during the breaks. You might (hopefully) already have some reasonable work experience at 24. The industry is chasing down anyone that can be re-trained at the moment, ex forces personnel are a current favourite.

[Stewart-83]

Not at all.

Having a more mature head on your shoulders isn't a bad thing really.

There are loads of options for placements too if you speak to the right people.

[frank hovis]

Some may depend on what you do prior to going to uni- ie not seen as time wasting activity and also if you can during your summers off be seen to get involved with internships as well would be good for you

[malks222]

sorry to hi-jack the thread, but i'm looking for some advice on helping a friend get into the industry. my friend is in his early 30's has an HNC in maintenence technology and HND in manufcaturing engineering, he has some experience working in hewlet packard factory, looking after the machine etc...

he then stopped that to become a full time athlete and now works as a full time elite level coach, but wants to leave this behind and get back into engineering, preferably O&G due to the industry in scotland.

he knows he's going to be starting in a low position/ apprenticeship/ trainee role, but he's looking for advice on which companies he's best to look at considering his age/ experience. anyone got any ideas able to help?

[gofasterrosssco]

Considering the average oil worker age is heading for about 60-odd in the next few years, I don't see it being a problem at all

[rossybee]

Late 20s not an issue in the slightest

[der1]

Cheers guys

That is my worst case scenario at the moment!

Hopefully I get to uni in September.

[Gareth135R]

Uni helps but it ain't the be all end all.
What skills do you have and what's the aim?

[awooga]

I moved into the O+G sector at the age of 41, albeit HSE rather than engineering. As someone correctly pointed out above, there are a LOT of old guys and a shortage of young engineers coming through.

Try and get relevant work experience during your summers off though.

[der1]

Gareth135R said:

Uni helps but it ain't the be all end all.
What skills do you have and what's the aim?

Covered it on here before but..
I basically want to go into drilling so that's why I want to go down the uni route.

I was working offshore as a steward recently but I don't have any direct skills I can transfer.

[celticstevie]

My dad just retired off rigs last year at 68!! Lots of 1970s tigers still kicking about.

[andy_s]

Yup, lots of long in the teeth guys knocking about, having said that I've just started working for a Spanish company and everyone looks fresh out of school.

[NRS]

The age shouldn't be an issue. The main problem is getting the first job. Many companies complain about the shortage of people, yet they don't want to have the investment for people with no experience. Perhaps not so much the money, but the time of the experienced people required to help the new person at the start.

[Guffy]

I was also 24 when I went into further education and started in the oil industry aged 30 on the completions side. I work for an operator now, so it can be done, but as is often the way with the oil industry, it's getting your foot in the door that can be the biggest challenge.

[malks222]

does anyone have contacts/ companies / agencies that are best to speak to about getting into the O&G industry specifically offshore?

[Kiltie]

der1 said:

29 too old to start in O&G or am I being a numpty here?

If the collective answer had been a resounding "yeah, you've blown it, face it, you're destined to serve burgers and fries", what would your next move have been?

[der1]

Kiltie said:

If the collective answer had been a resounding "yeah, you've blown it, face it, you're destined to serve burgers and fries", what would your next move have been?

Hmmm truthfully I would probably have continued offshore, then again I probably would not have listened and went ahead anyway