This is obviously not the best time to be graduating in Geology, Geophysics or Engineering if you are planning a career in oil and gas. However this is not the first time that such a precipitous fall in prices has occurred, and many of us graduated when the price of oil previously hit low levels similar to the current situation. I chose 1985 to enter the job market, with a BSc. in Geology from Imperial College, London. Oil prices dipped to around $10 a barrel the following year, and there seemed no route into the oil industry. I applied for a technician`s position with a Supermajor only to find out that there were 178 applicants, and I was considered overqualified.
After a year of working in temporary jobs, including dish washing at a film studio and working in a fertilizer factory, I began a career in mining in South Africa. Then I worked as a marine geologist surveying cable routes, and did a Masters and a PhD before I was finally taken on by Shell in the late 90s. I would imagine that many of you new graduates will follow similarly tortuous routes before finally landing an oil job, if you don't give up first.
So what should a new graduate be doing to try and position themselves for when prices finally begin to creep their way upwards towards "recovery" (the mythical upturn)? We addressed this question at the WIUGC (Western Inter-University Geoscience Conference, held in Western Canada) recently, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of the suggestions.
- Mining (especially in remote or less politically desirable areas);
- Hydrogeology;
- Environmental geology;
- Interpreter in a National or Provincial Park (Yellowstone or Dinosaurn Provincial Park would be great, even if you start off by volunteering for a summer);
- Provincial or city museum.
Almost any job will be be relevant in some way - it may boost your computer skills, give you practice in presenting, or at the very least expose you to other people and their experiences. This can later be parlayed into "relevant" experience on your CV, as well as providing you with a salary to keep the wolf from the door.
Regarding PhDs, my experience suggests that the key attributes are a project that is somewhat relevant to industry (preferably funded by a single or a consortium of oil companies). In addition it should be of interest to you, as you will spend an absolute minimum of three years working on it. If it is field based, so much the better.
Graduate students are also commonly looking for field assistants, and you might be able to pick up a cool travel opportunity with learning and field experience thrown in. Room and board are usually included. Visit the Geology department at your local university and put your name out there as being keen to help out. You may also get to help out with labs and as a demonstrator. I guarantee that you will learn a great deal if you take on this kind of role.
This list barely scratches the surface. I welcome comments and further suggestions from all those experienced and grizzled professionals who have weathered this particular storm in their past. Meanwhile good luck to every graduate and remember that fortune favours the brave. For those of us who graduated when oil prices were low, clawing our way into the industry has left us in a position where there is less competition because so many of our peers never made it into the industry. Many of them are instead now in IT or working as bank managers or in town planning. Is that what you want?
At the end of the day, history suggests that oil prices will rise again at some point, at which point you can start applying for all those new opportunities. The key thing is not to let this waiting period go to waste.
Thanks are owed to Don Weir and Ryan Lemiski for their excellent and thought provoking contributions to this article.
