Page 357 - Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language

348 Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language Second Edition

guarantees. Never pay anyone money to register for work or pay for a plane
ticket to start a job. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is!
Be careful.

Types of Employers

Operators

The operators are the companies that profit from selling oil and gas.

Operators can be huge (Exxon, Shell, or BP), medium-sized (Devon,
Tullow, or Cairn), or small, of course. The larger operators will typically
recruit people who have a technical degree or engineering background
and will train them to become the drilling engineers and managers of the
future. The medium-sized ones may recruit people with a good technical
degree and some drilling experience. The small operators will not have the
resources to train people and will generally look for experienced people
in the disciplines they need. So, job seekers without experience in the field

should avoid the smaller operators and not waste everyone’s time.
Young people planning their career paths should check out the Web
sites of some of the larger operators or contact the HR departments directly

to find out about entry requirements and to help decide an appropriate
academic path.
Sometimes the larger operators send recruiters into universities. They
are looking to make contact with those doing technical degrees who
show good results. Shell and BP (and probably others) run scholarship
programs in which those sponsored get some money while at a university
to help cover the cost of their education. For those who are serious about
their studies and can demonstrate good grades, it is worth applying for
these scholarships.
Some experienced drilling hands with a drilling contractor background
make the switch to working for operators, usually as drilling supervisors
at the wellsite.

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