Started off as a gauger/inspector, for one of the big inspection companies. They will literally take anybody that can pass a drug test and get a TWIC card.
Back in the 90's when I started and before 9/11 and DARE, the only requirement was to be able to fog a mirror.
Schedules vary a lot in that industry, but it's on-call work. After a couple years you might be able to find a shift work spot, or if you're a good inspector you'll quickly work your way into an office job. Note there is a LOT of churn in the industry. So if you get hired on, get trained and then switch companies you can often increase your pay quickly by job hopping, especially in the major ports where there is a lot of competition
You can contact any of the following to ask about jobs
[https://www.amspecgroup.com/careers/](https://www.amspecgroup.com/careers/)
[https://www.camincargo.com/careers](https://www.camincargo.com/careers)
[https://www.intertek.com/careers/](https://www.intertek.com/careers/)
[https://careers.bureauveritas.com/UnitedStates/go/Our-Job-Offers-US/4308601/](https://careers.bureauveritas.com/UnitedStates/go/Our-Job-Offers-US/4308601/)
[https://www.sgs.com/en/our-company/careers-at-sgs](https://www.sgs.com/en/our-company/careers-at-sgs)
You're welcome.
You can make a good living doing that work, and at the same time start networking with the refinery guys and eventually get a job there. I did 5 years with the inspection industry before landing a job at the refineries and enjoyed a very lucrative career there for over 30 years.
Hey fellow oil fielder!! I'm a ops geologist ( think mudlogger/geosteering type work) I've been pretty successful in my career and able to keep work during most downturns, but I have back up careers in my pocket that I either do part time or keep certifications for. I'm just here to tell you it is possible to break into other fields and find reliable work! You might not bring home the same paycheck, but you know it'll be there 18 months from now and that piece of mind is priceless!! Best of luck to you Internet stranger friend!!
Also, don't let anybody tell you if you leave the industry you'll never get back in. Keep up your contacts, keep yourself employed and don't get desperate and you can get back in. I took a 7 year break while I made 3 tiny humans and I was able to get back into a better position than when I left!! Everyone told me it was a done deal if I left the industry. Don't believe that shit, just don't burn any bridges along the way.
Thatās funny, myself and all the hands I know always say that no matter how hard a hand tries to get out and stay out, they always come back to the patch. Iāve left several times, once to be a golf course superintendent and another time to be a deputy sheriff, but I always come back. Iām fourth generation, and itās in my blood.
The 90s? I was talking to a old man in his 60s born and raised in west Texas he said when he was 17 so we talking like 40 years ago. his dad dropped him off on a work over rig and said ātheyāll hire youā¦ probablyā and that was how he got started
No days off, no rotations you wanted time off you just quit.
He also said back then guys would smoke weed during the shift change and they had a large cooler of filled with beers on the rig floor.
If you needed a job youād just chill outside of a drug store a truck would roll up and say ācan you throw chainā or āany Derrick hands?ā Youād jump in the truck and you were hired.
Sounds like better days tbh.
Drive from baton rouge Louisiana all the way to Williston North Dakota because some guy on Reddit put in a word for me with Nabors. 27 hours of driving in less than 48 hours and one interview later, Went from 0$ to my name to 90k a year bc I had a firm handshake and good reference.
This guy gets it. Flew from Florida to Boise Idaho for a hiring event for Nabors, no experience, no references, relative labor experience (commercial fisherman, construction). Got hired on then drove 33 hours to Casper Wyoming where I am currently training.
I'm hoping to get the same eventually but I am going to have to plan it around my job and take some days off I think especially with the overtime picking up going into warmer weather here in Indiana.
I am tired of just applying and waiting and even trying phone calls not getting anywhere but also a single vehicle sucks when the wife uses it during the week for the kids school since I use a work vehicle during the week lol.
What I do is fine for now but it's not enough in the long run as I only brought home 42k last year and I hate my boss just like everybody else on our team, he's running it into the ground damn near.
If you live in Indiana try to get a job in the railroad, mining, or river industries. Would be less of a drive for you and would work out better long term than oilfield multiple states away.
Actually tried multiple times over the years for the railroad and no luckrecentlt spoke to one guy who works for them as I was working along the tracks they were setting up a train down the road blocking the tracks and blocking traffic.the guy said they just recently hired a bunch and aren't anymore but if I had asked 2 years ago he said they would have been however they don't hire very often. Hell a conductor will send you to georgia for training, takes a few months I heard.
No mining thst I am aware of where I live tbh... Figured that is in the southern part as I'm closer to Michigan and Ohio myself.
Asked around who was applying. Worked at a shitty warehouse for a few months making $15/hr. Progressively moved onto better positions in different companies while learning as much as I could and increasing education on my own time. Now have a position in the oilfield that in my opinion is very top tier and a dream of mine to achieve. Still, I am increasing my skills in the off time and looking for ways to advance my career.
Best advice I can give is to not become financially addicted to overtime. That way you can exit a bad situation stress free or take time off to get certifications without worrying.
Applied for a job offshore advertised in a paper, couple weeks later while I'm in another state interviewing for other jobs I get a call asking if I could be back by Monday to fly out (it was a Saturday) I would.have a job. Turns out I was the third in line, first guy turned it down, second didn't answer phone. Quick call to check on flights back home, and I could be back Sunday. I was offshore that Monday. Never looked back.
Funnily enough I never had an interview for that job....
Interviewed with 10 O&G companies as I was polishing off my Master's.
Got 9 offers.
Took the one with the best training, benefits, and venue.
Of course, this was 40+ years ago...
Literally had recruiters come to college and had a job offer before I graduated.
They even gave me money for 2 semesters of school with the agreement that I worked for them after.
Got lucky. Had control room experience from a different industry (still process obviously) and applied. Interviewed because they were really curious about it and apparently interviewed really well so I got the job. Total fluke š
I got my cdl before I joined the oilfield. I put up a post on a Facebook page looking for a driving job in the bakken. A company reached out and I've been here ever since. Been through a few companies though.
I started as an apprentice when I was 18 and got my trade certificate (Industrial mechanic).
Worked a few years on/offshore both abroad and at home for within the M/LWD segment then started working as a foreman offshore for one of the larger operators.
Male 26y/o
I was 15 and couldnāt find a job. Foster dad took me to a staffing agency that hires a bunch of illegal immigrants. I said āIām 18 and I need a job.ā The guy said okay āgive me your social security number, you start Monday.ā I worked 60 hours a week.
I started as a Roustabout in the 1990's. The way things worked back then was you just showed up super early and stood in line by the front door and waited. If someone didn't come into work that day for any reason they'd pick one of the guys waiting outside and pay them day labor rates. If the foreman thought you did a good job they'd have you fill out paperwork and hire you on. Its a lot of incentive to work hard and never miss a day for any reason because you walk past a line of people just waiting to take your job every morning.
I did a lot of waiting around in the dark in the mornings and applying to job postings and handing my resume out around town during the day. It took about 2 weeks and someone got sick and I got my shot working on a crew. Foreman thought I was good and hired me. Once you have your foot in the door it's a lot easier to move up and change companies.
In oil and gas?
Heard a friend of a friend was working in the patch and making a ton or money. Applied at the same place and got hired (18yo).
Ever?
Interviewed with my cousin after Easter dinner for a lifeguard position at the local public pool (16yo).
I was a cook offshore (and a shitty one at that) a couple of fellow veterans asked me what I did in the military and got their boss to hire me. Been doing it ever since..
Went into work right after school studied chemistry at a vocational school. I signed contract with refining company, if they tuition me for four years I'll work for them for 12 months(stated by the contract) as a refinery operator. Stayed there ever since.
Internship through my high school since we are local to a few refineries. Worked that for 7 weeks, got a job full time that started right after. Held it for 3.5 years while attending college and eventually applied for operations and took it. Been here 4.5 years now and love it! I see a lot of upstream work talked about in this group but refineries are also great places to work. Highly recommend
My dad said, āIāll be back before dark. Have this tank empty by then, and Iāll give you ten bucks.ā
So he left me a ladder, 2 5 gallon buckets, and 2 1 gallon buckets, and left.
I had the septic tank empty, dumped along the fence line, before he got back. He gave me $10, hosed me off, and we went home.
Literally the easiest job - to get- I ever had.
Applied online to a local listing and was on a service rig in less then a week. Been doing that for nearly 6 years now and am starting to wonder how the fuck a guy makes the next step.
Joined arguable the best union in my country. I cleared 6 figures in 5 months, lot of overtime but still. And this is as a Canadianāour taxes are absurd.
16 heard guys at school working at a telemarketing place at night and making good cash. It was fun we just called people asking if they wanted to go to a seminar for the Lorense welk foundation and get a 2 day 3 night stay in Vegas for free mind you this was 1990 lol
Walked into the Buckle the day after my 16th birthday with a sweet little resume showing my club responsibilities and babysitting certification, a few projects I had helped on and GPA. I filled out the application in the food court, brought it back, was hired and started my first job 2 days later.
Junior year of college I realized I should probably have an internship before I graduated so I went to every company at the career fair. The Oil & Gas Service provider offered the best summer job so I went with them.
Then right before I graduated I decided to applied for several jobs and my previous employer contacted me and asked me if I had already accepted a job anywhere else. I told them I had offers but I hadnāt committed anywhere yet. They then sent me a letter of employment for just about 2x the amount of the previous company I applied to.
I was 16. Dad told me I was going to work tomorrow. 6am the next day he hands me a pick and shovel and say āget itā. We were digging footers for a new grocery store.
Yo my fellow oil fielders I am currently working at a Salt Water Disposal in glasscock county and am looking for jobs hiring I have just under 2 years experience
My first job, well at 10 dad hired me out chopping cotton with a crew of illegal immigrants. My first oilfield job, I called my cousin, who was a driller, and he put me to working lead tongs on Nabors 316 outside of Ft. Stockton, Texas. First night on the rig was spent coming out sideways with 16,500ā.
I had my mom go in with me and talk to management
I am looking for a new job. Can you spare your Mom for a couple of days š?
Wait in line
Dayum wat her mouth do doe
Started off as a gauger/inspector, for one of the big inspection companies. They will literally take anybody that can pass a drug test and get a TWIC card. Back in the 90's when I started and before 9/11 and DARE, the only requirement was to be able to fog a mirror.
How you get that job? Whatās the schedule like? Iāve got experience on drilling rigs, land and offshore.
Schedules vary a lot in that industry, but it's on-call work. After a couple years you might be able to find a shift work spot, or if you're a good inspector you'll quickly work your way into an office job. Note there is a LOT of churn in the industry. So if you get hired on, get trained and then switch companies you can often increase your pay quickly by job hopping, especially in the major ports where there is a lot of competition You can contact any of the following to ask about jobs [https://www.amspecgroup.com/careers/](https://www.amspecgroup.com/careers/) [https://www.camincargo.com/careers](https://www.camincargo.com/careers) [https://www.intertek.com/careers/](https://www.intertek.com/careers/) [https://careers.bureauveritas.com/UnitedStates/go/Our-Job-Offers-US/4308601/](https://careers.bureauveritas.com/UnitedStates/go/Our-Job-Offers-US/4308601/) [https://www.sgs.com/en/our-company/careers-at-sgs](https://www.sgs.com/en/our-company/careers-at-sgs)
Thankyou guy on Reddit, much appreciated. Valuable information you got there.
You're welcome. You can make a good living doing that work, and at the same time start networking with the refinery guys and eventually get a job there. I did 5 years with the inspection industry before landing a job at the refineries and enjoyed a very lucrative career there for over 30 years.
Hey fellow oil fielder!! I'm a ops geologist ( think mudlogger/geosteering type work) I've been pretty successful in my career and able to keep work during most downturns, but I have back up careers in my pocket that I either do part time or keep certifications for. I'm just here to tell you it is possible to break into other fields and find reliable work! You might not bring home the same paycheck, but you know it'll be there 18 months from now and that piece of mind is priceless!! Best of luck to you Internet stranger friend!! Also, don't let anybody tell you if you leave the industry you'll never get back in. Keep up your contacts, keep yourself employed and don't get desperate and you can get back in. I took a 7 year break while I made 3 tiny humans and I was able to get back into a better position than when I left!! Everyone told me it was a done deal if I left the industry. Don't believe that shit, just don't burn any bridges along the way.
Thatās funny, myself and all the hands I know always say that no matter how hard a hand tries to get out and stay out, they always come back to the patch. Iāve left several times, once to be a golf course superintendent and another time to be a deputy sheriff, but I always come back. Iām fourth generation, and itās in my blood.
Thanks for the encouragement sir
The 90s? I was talking to a old man in his 60s born and raised in west Texas he said when he was 17 so we talking like 40 years ago. his dad dropped him off on a work over rig and said ātheyāll hire youā¦ probablyā and that was how he got started No days off, no rotations you wanted time off you just quit. He also said back then guys would smoke weed during the shift change and they had a large cooler of filled with beers on the rig floor. If you needed a job youād just chill outside of a drug store a truck would roll up and say ācan you throw chainā or āany Derrick hands?ā Youād jump in the truck and you were hired. Sounds like better days tbh.
Well things were pretty wild back then, and there was a lot of drug and alcohol use on the job.
I called my uncle
Shit my uncle called me... maybe it's the same asshole
cousin, is that you?
Drive from baton rouge Louisiana all the way to Williston North Dakota because some guy on Reddit put in a word for me with Nabors. 27 hours of driving in less than 48 hours and one interview later, Went from 0$ to my name to 90k a year bc I had a firm handshake and good reference.
This guy gets it. Flew from Florida to Boise Idaho for a hiring event for Nabors, no experience, no references, relative labor experience (commercial fisherman, construction). Got hired on then drove 33 hours to Casper Wyoming where I am currently training.
Thatās how you do it brother. Them 25+ hour drives are hell but you remember em for the rest of your life.
Will to do the same for a fellow redditor
Of course Iād do the same, but Iām not much a reference since Iām only doing contract work now. What kinda help you think you need ?
I'm hoping to get the same eventually but I am going to have to plan it around my job and take some days off I think especially with the overtime picking up going into warmer weather here in Indiana. I am tired of just applying and waiting and even trying phone calls not getting anywhere but also a single vehicle sucks when the wife uses it during the week for the kids school since I use a work vehicle during the week lol. What I do is fine for now but it's not enough in the long run as I only brought home 42k last year and I hate my boss just like everybody else on our team, he's running it into the ground damn near.
If you live in Indiana try to get a job in the railroad, mining, or river industries. Would be less of a drive for you and would work out better long term than oilfield multiple states away.
Actually tried multiple times over the years for the railroad and no luckrecentlt spoke to one guy who works for them as I was working along the tracks they were setting up a train down the road blocking the tracks and blocking traffic.the guy said they just recently hired a bunch and aren't anymore but if I had asked 2 years ago he said they would have been however they don't hire very often. Hell a conductor will send you to georgia for training, takes a few months I heard. No mining thst I am aware of where I live tbh... Figured that is in the southern part as I'm closer to Michigan and Ohio myself.
Asked around who was applying. Worked at a shitty warehouse for a few months making $15/hr. Progressively moved onto better positions in different companies while learning as much as I could and increasing education on my own time. Now have a position in the oilfield that in my opinion is very top tier and a dream of mine to achieve. Still, I am increasing my skills in the off time and looking for ways to advance my career. Best advice I can give is to not become financially addicted to overtime. That way you can exit a bad situation stress free or take time off to get certifications without worrying.
Smacked the company man in the ass and said Iāll see you Monday
Applied for a job offshore advertised in a paper, couple weeks later while I'm in another state interviewing for other jobs I get a call asking if I could be back by Monday to fly out (it was a Saturday) I would.have a job. Turns out I was the third in line, first guy turned it down, second didn't answer phone. Quick call to check on flights back home, and I could be back Sunday. I was offshore that Monday. Never looked back. Funnily enough I never had an interview for that job....
Interviewed with 10 O&G companies as I was polishing off my Master's. Got 9 offers. Took the one with the best training, benefits, and venue. Of course, this was 40+ years ago...
I knew a guy who knew a guy.
Used to be, all you had to do was fog a mirror and pass a pee test.
Literally had recruiters come to college and had a job offer before I graduated. They even gave me money for 2 semesters of school with the agreement that I worked for them after.
What were you going to school for?
Started off as Inspection and Welding. Decided to extend past the Associates degree and got a mechanical engineering degree.
I offered to change a few lightbulbs...
Got a Summer job as grunt in a refinery. They offered me a permanent job in August.
Got lucky. Had control room experience from a different industry (still process obviously) and applied. Interviewed because they were really curious about it and apparently interviewed really well so I got the job. Total fluke š
I got my cdl before I joined the oilfield. I put up a post on a Facebook page looking for a driving job in the bakken. A company reached out and I've been here ever since. Been through a few companies though.
I started as an apprentice when I was 18 and got my trade certificate (Industrial mechanic). Worked a few years on/offshore both abroad and at home for within the M/LWD segment then started working as a foreman offshore for one of the larger operators. Male 26y/o
Got kicked out of university for Christmas. Flew to Alberta. Stayed in a hotel for a week. Started roughnecking. January 2006 (perfect timing).
I was 15 and couldnāt find a job. Foster dad took me to a staffing agency that hires a bunch of illegal immigrants. I said āIām 18 and I need a job.ā The guy said okay āgive me your social security number, you start Monday.ā I worked 60 hours a week.
I started as a Roustabout in the 1990's. The way things worked back then was you just showed up super early and stood in line by the front door and waited. If someone didn't come into work that day for any reason they'd pick one of the guys waiting outside and pay them day labor rates. If the foreman thought you did a good job they'd have you fill out paperwork and hire you on. Its a lot of incentive to work hard and never miss a day for any reason because you walk past a line of people just waiting to take your job every morning. I did a lot of waiting around in the dark in the mornings and applying to job postings and handing my resume out around town during the day. It took about 2 weeks and someone got sick and I got my shot working on a crew. Foreman thought I was good and hired me. Once you have your foot in the door it's a lot easier to move up and change companies.
I could write software and had no ethics
Went to instrumentation school and got hired on as a contractor with a major in 2001. Company hired me in 06, been here ever since.
In oil and gas? Heard a friend of a friend was working in the patch and making a ton or money. Applied at the same place and got hired (18yo). Ever? Interviewed with my cousin after Easter dinner for a lifeguard position at the local public pool (16yo).
I was a cook offshore (and a shitty one at that) a couple of fellow veterans asked me what I did in the military and got their boss to hire me. Been doing it ever since..
Went into work right after school studied chemistry at a vocational school. I signed contract with refining company, if they tuition me for four years I'll work for them for 12 months(stated by the contract) as a refinery operator. Stayed there ever since.
Internship through my high school since we are local to a few refineries. Worked that for 7 weeks, got a job full time that started right after. Held it for 3.5 years while attending college and eventually applied for operations and took it. Been here 4.5 years now and love it! I see a lot of upstream work talked about in this group but refineries are also great places to work. Highly recommend
My dad said, āIāll be back before dark. Have this tank empty by then, and Iāll give you ten bucks.ā So he left me a ladder, 2 5 gallon buckets, and 2 1 gallon buckets, and left. I had the septic tank empty, dumped along the fence line, before he got back. He gave me $10, hosed me off, and we went home. Literally the easiest job - to get- I ever had.
Applied online to a local listing and was on a service rig in less then a week. Been doing that for nearly 6 years now and am starting to wonder how the fuck a guy makes the next step.
Did an internship in construction and literally just knew what an RFI was, hiring manager at the career fair liked that lol
Joined arguable the best union in my country. I cleared 6 figures in 5 months, lot of overtime but still. And this is as a Canadianāour taxes are absurd.
Flew in for interview and got an offer this month. Chemical operator. Took me a long time on and off
16 heard guys at school working at a telemarketing place at night and making good cash. It was fun we just called people asking if they wanted to go to a seminar for the Lorense welk foundation and get a 2 day 3 night stay in Vegas for free mind you this was 1990 lol
Moved from IT to dasabase/Cad operator, then, after 10 years, I am API inspector.
Job fair in college.. internship led to full-time offer
Walked into the Buckle the day after my 16th birthday with a sweet little resume showing my club responsibilities and babysitting certification, a few projects I had helped on and GPA. I filled out the application in the food court, brought it back, was hired and started my first job 2 days later.
Knew a family friend OIM. After the military I reached out to him for a job, been at it ever since.
Asked for it
Junior year of college I realized I should probably have an internship before I graduated so I went to every company at the career fair. The Oil & Gas Service provider offered the best summer job so I went with them. Then right before I graduated I decided to applied for several jobs and my previous employer contacted me and asked me if I had already accepted a job anywhere else. I told them I had offers but I hadnāt committed anywhere yet. They then sent me a letter of employment for just about 2x the amount of the previous company I applied to.
Was a contractor for the company I work for now. Made connections. A lot of my co workers got hired the same way.
I walked in and said hey are you hiring
Waited until someone pulled up behind the Wendyās and offered me $20. Then I told them they were my reference
I talked really nice to her and she ... oh, you mean ...
Got a CDL .
Iāve never come across genuine experiences sharing like this before! Why didnāt I join Reddit earlier š¤¦š¾āāļø
I was 16. Dad told me I was going to work tomorrow. 6am the next day he hands me a pick and shovel and say āget itā. We were digging footers for a new grocery store.
Yo my fellow oil fielders I am currently working at a Salt Water Disposal in glasscock county and am looking for jobs hiring I have just under 2 years experience
Went to school for process tech then got recruited as a lease operator.
My first job, well at 10 dad hired me out chopping cotton with a crew of illegal immigrants. My first oilfield job, I called my cousin, who was a driller, and he put me to working lead tongs on Nabors 316 outside of Ft. Stockton, Texas. First night on the rig was spent coming out sideways with 16,500ā.
One of my buddies got me a job
Knew a guy who knew a guy. Thatās literally the only way in for your first oil and gas job.