Future of Oil and Gas Engineers 3

[mechatronic]

Hi,

I am a Mechanical Engineer , who with great difficulty migrated from Power sector to Oil and Gas sector.I am a rotating and Static Equipment Engineer , with proven track record Engineering of Packaged systems also.I migrated to canada but could not get a job , came to Middle east and started working. Few months back I got an offer from canada because of Oil and Gas experience but I could not go back since my PR status was expired.

I have following doubts.

1. Recruiters are very biased about accepting skills of an Engineer who has worked only in Power sector and not prepared to accept an Engineer into the oil and Gas sector. I , went to the middle east , got into Consulting company specialised in Oil and Gas Upstream contributed in both static and Rotating where my job is accepted.

Why companies are not prepared to accept an Engineer from power sector - what is the apprehension ?

2. I understand from an article published today , many nuclear power stations are going to be built across the globe ( canada , India , China , Iran, Pakistan., Russa South africa - 24 Nuclear stations in the next 5 years ) in the coming days . Can any one tell presently how much of Hydrocarbon is going to the Power plant stream and how much for Automobile on global basis ?

3. If major chunk of hydrocarbon is presently utilised for power plant stream, then does it mean there will be sudden collapse of crude/ natural gas demand which eventually Engineers like me again get into trouble of employment?

4. They say there is a severe skill shortages in Canada ? Is there any way to obtain work permit there ?

Thanks in advance - Mechatronic

 

[GregLocock]

1) Powergen people are Homer Simpson. O&G are Red Adair. (OK, unfair, sashumi).

2) Don't know. Using oil and gas for powerplant operation is just plain stupid from any perspective beyond short term financials.

3) Oil is currently a resource that would be very hard to replace, particularly for aircraft, agriculture, and road-haulage. I doubt that demand will dry up in the next 20 years.

4) Ive heard a rumour that it isn't very hard, moltenmetal can probably give you a few tips. Have you got a street map of Toronto, and a driver's license?


Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[zdas04]

I'll take a shot at your list:
1. Recruiters are a blight on the landscape. They're mostly HR types that care more about their perceived power than the interests of the company. That is changing, but slowly. I've seen more than a few engineers come over from Powergen, but they are not much different from engineers that came from any other industry--some are good and some are not.
2. 24 Nuclear stations is a drop in the bucket. It is unlikely that that many hydrocarbon plants will close because of them (with as long as it takes to build one demand growth will overcome the construction schedule).
3. I think that the demand for Oil & Gas will remain strong until someone comes up with a revolutionary power supply that makes it largly obsolete.
4. Don't know.

David

 

[macmet]

1. No idea
2. I agree with Mr. Locock and David, it does not seem to be a good idea to make gas and oil powerplants these days, but 24 Nuke stations throughout the world will not be enough to cause these plants to close.
3. Again, the two previous posts make sense.
4. This question has been discussed a lot but you'll have to search b/c it seems to come up in threads regarding other matters. Being from Canada, it seems that it is more difficult to get a job now then a couple years back.

See

http://eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=155733&page=1

(I hope that thread works).

I am not sure how to get a work permit in Canada, sorry.

 

[Ashereng]

1. Come on. What kind of question is that? Let's put it another way. Are O&G engineers accepted equally in power industry? No? Gee, I wonder why? It is much easier to accept your peer (same discipling, same industry, same location). This is why companies poach from each other, and not from another industry or location. You have a better chance of understanding what you are getting.

I don't think this type of bias is restricted to HR people. I personally also lean that way. If a new member is coming onto my team, I would probably prefer O&G than another industry. It's not a bias against power. It's a bias against non-O&G.

2. Don't know. Will guess not much?

3. This is another reason why we in O&G prefer to hire others from O&G. If you think this, then "You just don't understand our industry!" See what I mean? O&G is not going away suddenly, and certainly not in 10 years. The nay sayers have been predicting the demise of coal since 1960's? Coal is still around.

4. I am sure there is. Like anything else, it is easier if you have a employer's sponsor (ie job waiting for you here).

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[moltenmetal]

mechatronic: you said "I migrated to Canada but couldn't find a job". I guess you anticipating that your oil and gas sector experience will be the big difference this time around, but perhaps the lack of directly relevant experience wasn't the only problem for you in Canada last time around.

There are indeed some skill shortages in Canada, but they're regional and related specifically to particular types of experience. There is no general skill shortage in Canada- there are definitely unemployed engineers in Canada, plus a very large fraction of those educated as engineers are working in jobs not at all related to engineering.

Oil and gas workers are in short supply in northern Alberta, but that doesn't mean that anybody who shows up in Alberta with any amount of relevant experience is snapped up immediately for a high-paying oil and gas-related job suited to their skills and experience.

A few pieces of advice: 1) get the job offer in hand first, before you choose to come, and 2) stay away from Toronto and its severe local over-supply of foreign-trained engineers, and 3) be prepared to leave Alberta and possibly Canada again once the oil boom dies down, which it inevitably will- someday.

If you have a job offer from an employer rather than from a recruiter only, and you've previously been a permanent resident of Canada, then you should have little difficulty in meeting the criteria to re-enter Canada as an economic ("skilled worker class") immigrant.

Best of luck to you.

 

[mechatronic]

Moltenmetal,

Very useful advise. Thanks a lot