The Student Room Group
Discovering Higher and Degree Apprenticeships with UWE Bristol, get free advice >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Discovering Higher and Degree Apprenticeships with UWE Bristol, get free advice >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

How long until you can become a drilling consultant (offshore)

hi everyone,

Im studying chemical engineering (Masters) at Sheffield. I have chosen this for two reasons: I like problem solving and maths etc, and because of the vast career opportunities available. I particularly am interested in the lucrative oil and refraction section. I have heard that Drilling CONSULTANTS can earn up to £150-200k? Is this true? How long does it take to be a drilling consultant? Ive been doing research for a while but haven't had much luck so id be glad if anyone could enlighten me? Thanks :smile:
Original post by Noumsey
hi everyone,

Im studying chemical engineering (Masters) at Sheffield. I have chosen this for two reasons: I like problem solving and maths etc, and because of the vast career opportunities available. I particularly am interested in the lucrative oil and refraction section. I have heard that Drilling CONSULTANTS can earn up to £150-200k? Is this true? How long does it take to be a drilling consultant? Ive been doing research for a while but haven't had much luck so id be glad if anyone could enlighten me? Thanks :smile:


What you're thinking of is a drilling engineer. A drilling consultant could be someone who is self-employed, rather than a member of staff, and usually in a senior role.

Back in the heydays of the industry the figures you quoted certainly weren't out of the question. Drilling was well paid. But after the job and rate cuts I'm not sure what would be expected today. It's probably still generally very well paid for those who are still in it.

I was offered a job as a drilling engineer a few years ago, but didn't take it. It's not the job for everyone, as it requires a lot of offshore work at the start of the career, which doesn't suit everyone. But those that liked offshore working and travel could make really good money in it. A lot of people from my course were attracted to it for that reason.

You'd either apply to the oil companies (and maybe a consultancy) to work directly as a drilling/wells engineer, or one of the services companies in a more specialist role. But as you might expect, given the current state of the industry, it's going to be really hard to get such a position now. Many, many thousands of jobs have been lost in this area in the last two years and offshore rig owners have been scrapping rigs in their fleets due to lack of work. So have a backup plan.
(edited 7 years ago)

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you