How does one get into the oil and natural gas industry? (20yrs in Financial Services)

[WHoSaidthis]

I've been contracting as a Project Manager for nearly 20 years in Financial Services, hopping over from bank to bank. My rates have averaged from £700 - £900/day.

Have for a while now been hearing about guys who have held perm jobs in the oil sector working for Middle Eastern companies (remotely and in MENAT countries), making base salaries of £200k+ on around 15 years experience.

This brings me to..how one would go about landing a Project manager gig in the Oil industry. My main goal is to make as much £ as possible before retirement (pay off mortgage, etc.). I do long hours, have track record of delivering solid projects with large budgets etc so why not carry on doing the same and make more money whilst doing it (one hopes!)

Are there any specific training courses or formal accreditations specific to the oil industry to help land a job more easily?

On the face of it, it's probably quite a basic question, but I would deeply appreciate any help/ guidance., please Many thanks

[JustKeepSwimming]

Job adverts will indicate if there is any specialist certificates. At the level you want to go in at I don't see certificates do much to help.

I think your main issue is what projects you want to work on (and which bring the most money). You're not getting a infrastructure PM role no matter how much you put out.

I would just try and have some conversations with recruiters specialising in that field.

[Zigenare]

I've been contracting as a Project Manager for nearly 20 years in Financial Services, hopping over from bank to bank. My rates have averaged from £700 - £900/day.

Have for a while now been hearing about guys who have held perm jobs in the oil sector working for Middle Eastern companies (remotely and in MENAT countries), making base salaries of £200k+ on around 15 years experience.

This brings me to..how one would go about landing a Project manager gig in the Oil industry. My main goal is to make as much £ as possible before retirement (pay off mortgage, etc.). I do long hours, have track record of delivering solid projects with large budgets etc so why not carry on doing the same and make more money whilst doing it (one hopes!)

Are there any specific training courses or formal accreditations specific to the oil industry to help land a job more easily?

On the face of it, it's probably quite a basic question, but I would deeply appreciate any help/ guidance., please Many thanks

The transition from Financial Services to Oil and Gas requires one to develop an unhealthy interest in films about gladiators and a number of training courses involving the compressibility of air in a pumped hot water system and relief of pressure therein.

[ladymuck]

Like all closed shop industries (FS, O&G, Insurance, Pharma, Nuclear, Aviation, etc etc) you need experience to get the job. Occasionally you get a company who realise that you don't need to know how the industry works in order to bleed a radiator and they let you in. Once you're in, you then milk it for all you're worth.

[dsc]

I'm ex-O&G and you always needed previous O&G exp to get into, even though it's not a complicated business. One thing that is super crucial is safety, assessing every decision based on safety and production continuity. tulip that flies in other industries, very often doesn't fly in O&G, so that's probably why most companies require industry experience. It's also a super slow and boring industry, although defence trumps it when it comes to how long things can take. Kind of similar to Pharma, but O&G was always considered a "dirty" industry, so it's really hard to jump from O&G to Pharma.

So, keep applying and keep your fingers crossed, if there's accreditation they will be listed on job specs, so you can pick those up and see how easy it is to get them. Don't be surprised if companies in the industry bin CVs from people not from the industry.

[TheDude]

Like all closed shop industries (FS, O&G, Insurance, Pharma, Nuclear, Aviation, etc etc) you need experience to get the job. Occasionally you get a company who realise that you don't need to know how the industry works in order to bleed a radiator and they let you in. Once you're in, you then milk it for all you're worth.

Financial Services is not a closed shop from a technology perspective.

[edison]

Like all closed shop industries (FS, O&G, Insurance, Pharma, Nuclear, Aviation, etc etc) you need experience to get the job. Occasionally you get a company who realise that you don't need to know how the industry works in order to bleed a radiator and they let you in. Once you're in, you then milk it for all you're worth.

I'd say several highly regulated industries are quasi closed shops. It's still possible to get in but it can be down to a bit of luck with a specific hiring manager being a bit more open minded and of course the specifics of the role.

I've managed to work in four of the industries you mention (FS, insurance, pharma and aviation) having never worked in any of them before. I'd say working in FS did help me get a gig in an insurance firm but otherwise none of the hiring managers who interviewed me seemed that bothered I had no previous sector experience.

[jamesbrown]

I'd say several highly regulated industries are quasi closed shops. It's still possible to get in but it can be down to a bit of luck with a specific hiring manager being a bit more open minded and of course the specifics of the role.

I've managed to work in four of the industries you mention (FS, insurance, pharma and aviation) having never worked in any of them before. I'd say working in FS did help me get a gig in an insurance firm but otherwise none of the hiring managers who interviewed me seemed that bothered I had no previous sector experience.

Putting aside the closed shop mentality/idiocy, it depends a lot on the role - some roles are less exposed to sector-specific practices and regulatory context than others. For example, there are many tech/quant skills where the "shop" in which those skills are applied is almost entirely irrelevant and failure to move between sectors is more about the closed shop mentality/idiocy.

[ladymuck]

I see so many adverts where the spec is something I can do in my sleep and then there's the killer "must have [industry] experience". I try anyway and am always told, you look great but you've not worked in FS, Insurance, Legal, etc etc so they won't consider you.

I agree that the majority of work needed doesn't require me to know the ins and outs of a given industry but I have yet to get past the agent gatekeepers who claim otherwise.

[jamesbrown]

I agree that the majority of work needed doesn't require me to know the ins and outs of a given industry but I have yet to get past the agent gatekeepers who claim otherwise.

Oh, I agree, it's real, just mostly (but not always) baseless, depending on role