Oil & Gas vs Mining - the right move early

[DDefoe]

Hi, I'll try be brief but it's complicated - apologies.

I'm a piping/mechanical grad, and after my first 9 months of largely twiddling my thumbs I was seconded to a client's office in a maintenance/modifications role for an offshore facility. The role I filled was that of a senior mechanical engineer (7 years exp)who left overseas, and my company had nobody of similar experience to replace him that was familiar with the contract. Though I was to only tackle some of his scope due to my inexperience I am now performing the entire role he used to cover. Needless to say I was delighted with the opportunity, have been thrown in the deep end, have learnt an incredible amount in the past 6 months and will continue to do so for a while yet. I find the work very interesting. I am charged out at the same rate as the senior guy I replaced, and am earning a graduate salary, so my company is getting great value.

Human Resources and the national piping/mechanical chief have gotten wind of it and are concerned I will only learn the client's systems without being exposed to our systems and people. The chief wants to take me off the secondment and has put two options on the table: a site based role for the piping construction on a huge new gold mine, or a site role (close to the city) on a high tech iron making pilot plant.

I understand where they are coming from, but long term I want a career in oil and gas. I am thinking I will stick it out another 6 months until I've done a full year here on this secondment, and then take the site role on the pilot plant for a year. If no oil and gas work presents itself at the end of that year I will quit and find the role I want in oil and gas. Am I shooting myself in the foot by going to a resources/mining application, or at this early stage is *any* discipline related experience a good thing regardless of industry?

I am concerned that if I don't get solid oil and gas experience early, I will go too far down the wrong path and find it hard to come back. I am seeking advice from my 'mentor' and people I can trust within my company.

Any advice is appreciated. Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance.

 

[stanweld]

If the job that you have after another year of experience, as you described, does not suit your goals, find and secure the job that appears to meet those goals before quitting. From personal experience, it is much easier to obtain another job while one is currently employed and more difficult when one is unemployed.

 

[MortenA]

Will your clent accept that you "cross-over"?

Best regards

Morten

 

[TenPenny]

If the oil and gas business continues along the trajectory it has followed, it won't matter a pinch of coon doody where you came from....they'll take you if they can convince you to come. I know people who have spent several years in pulp and paper, and the only oil and gas they understood was what went into their cars, who were courted by oil and gas people and snatched up as soon as they even hinted that they'd go. Your several months experience so far will count for quite a lot, and a little diversity on a new project will help, too.

 

[svanels]

Since you are young and unexperienced, and they want to expose as much as possible, it is a hint that your work has not have gone by un-noticed. As you mentioned that you have learned a lot in the past six months, you will probably learn twice that amount in another project, which will be good for any job you will apply.
Have you thougth about the consequences of a career in the offshore industry on the long run? Try to think 10 years from now, when you probably will have wife and kids.

 

[Murec]

The oilsands of Alberta combine mining with oil&gas and there seems to be plenty of work, both engineering and site, for quite some time.

 

[DDefoe]

Thank you all for the advice, very encouraging. I thought people would advise that dabbling in both would be detrimental and give the impression of a jack of all trades, master of none. However, in both roles the job is quite discipline specific so perhaps as most of you say this is a non-issue.

As far as working offshore goes Svanels, in the Western Australian market, offshore jobs require less time away from home than the mining business. Engineers tend to go offshore only a handful of times each year, for 1 to 2 weeks at a time (maximum). The rigs and FPSOs are manned by only by production techs, maintenance and marine people. Whereas engineering jobs in mining are more likely to be residential or fly in fly out positions.

My thinking at the moment is that I will ask if I can stay on for 6 months in the current role to get a more solid grounding and then take the pilot plant secondment. I have a meeting with my 'mentor' to discuss these issues today, which hopefully will seal my fate.

Thanks again.

 

[itdepends]

mmm- I can almost pick what those projects are- can I buy a vowel???????

Isasmelt for the high tech iron- there's a few more gold projects around though - so it could be anywhere.

 

[rtmote]

Never worry if it is oil and gas experience you want. Tenpenny is right. I work in the Oil and Gas field in Alberta and it is here for a long long time. The industry hasn't even started to mature.

I had a similar predicament of getting locked into the nuclear field and was looking for openings in oil and gas. In an open house interview, I made my case and was offered a job with no direct experience and have never looked back.

I recruit people on personality, enthusiasm and ability more than experience because we never find it. We have even taken taxi drivers!

Good luck.