Experienced offshore guys, a little advice...?
03-20-2008, 09:29 AM
#1
Experienced offshore guys, a little advice...? I am going in for my final interview with Halliburton for an offshore drilling engineer position, and I want to get a feel for life out on the rig. Honestly, what is it like? Food, sleeping situation, any entertainment...? I figure ill do it while im young, but I dont want to be miserable
03-20-2008, 10:40 AM
#4
Not like jail. There will be several hours and days of boredom though. Luckily with today's technology you will have internet and plenty of movies to watch. Quarters are usually portable shipping containers with bunk beds, nothing fancy. Food is hit or miss, depending on the cook. Smaller rigs have the crew cook for themselves.
The only thing "jail" like would be not having the freedom to enjoy your evenings as you want to. Sitting around looking at a bunch of men, no women to chase, no beer, no real fun. But, nobody is trying to stab you or steal your food, or take you from behind
The only thing "jail" like would be not having the freedom to enjoy your evenings as you want to. Sitting around looking at a bunch of men, no women to chase, no beer, no real fun. But, nobody is trying to stab you or steal your food, or take you from behind
03-20-2008, 10:48 AM
#5
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i almost did this, but college seemed more fun lol. i hear the pay's good. goodluck to ya buddy, bring a camera!!!! im sure you'll get great shots of the sea and sun.
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03-20-2008, 11:03 AM
#8
stress is kind of low on a rig. Offshore industry usually works at a slow pace in the drilling side of things. The process itself just takes a long time. All of the tasks leading up to the offshore scope are what seem hectic and stressful.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
03-20-2008, 02:56 PM
#9
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i did the offshore thing for awhile but i have been back on land now since '93. like they say there is plenty of time on your hands while off and cant go no where...pack you some reading material because pin ball,pool and movies will get boring in time , food is usually good ...if he is not he wont last out there they will get a replacment...there is so much work that i have not needed to go back off shore but i dont think it has changed that much thru the years as i have kept up with some old friends...
03-20-2008, 03:09 PM
#10
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it all depends on what rig you go to. most of the rigs i have been on in the last year have been fairly nice. there were one or 2 that were dumps but you have to take what you get. food is good depending on the cooks and catering crew you have on board. most rigs have a gym, or at least something that resembles a gym. some places like the rig i am on currently have full gym, a personal trainer, good food, sat tv with all the movie channels, nice clean living accommodation's. Internet is slow, on par with a 56k modem on a sunny day.
only once have i had to stay in a shipping container a room. showers are small, but its offset by someone doing your laundry for you every night.
They can get noisy(smaller semi-subs) it all depends on where the engine rooms are located in relation to the living quarters.
You can go a little stir crazy like others have said(like i am now). generally there are few ladies around and the ones that are arent worth chasing. and no beer...
Take the job and give it 6 months to make up your mind if rig life is what you want to do. but come hunting/fishing seasons and all your buddies are at work on a wednesday..you are in a blind or on an empty lake.
only once have i had to stay in a shipping container a room. showers are small, but its offset by someone doing your laundry for you every night.
They can get noisy(smaller semi-subs) it all depends on where the engine rooms are located in relation to the living quarters.
You can go a little stir crazy like others have said(like i am now). generally there are few ladies around and the ones that are arent worth chasing. and no beer...
Take the job and give it 6 months to make up your mind if rig life is what you want to do. but come hunting/fishing seasons and all your buddies are at work on a wednesday..you are in a blind or on an empty lake.
03-20-2008, 04:04 PM
#11
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All of the input from above is pretty good. Nineball said stress is low, that is about the only thin i dont agree with, espescially if you are in a managment position.....they always want everything done 3 days ago and "**** rolls downhill is never more true in those situations". But working for halliburton like u say ........i see a lot of *** time in a tv lounge in your future. when you do work u will prolly be up at all hours of the nite and for long streches, but most halliburton guys i run into spend more time on ebay that they do the drill floor/main deck. As for accomodations.......if its older than 15 yrs and hasnt had a shipyard date in the last 10 yrs its prolly not gonna be any better than the local roach hotel, minus the roaches (sometimes).
03-20-2008, 10:31 PM
#13
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D oesn't
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food depends on the cook. but all in all it isn't too bad. bring your camera you'll take a bunch of picutures
03-20-2008, 10:56 PM
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stress is kind of low on a rig. Offshore industry usually works at a slow pace in the drilling side of things. The process itself just takes a long time. All of the tasks leading up to the offshore scope are what seem hectic and stressful.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
03-21-2008, 12:49 AM
#16
You obviously have never worked on a drilling rig before. To say that the stress level is low and that things work at a slow pace is completely inaccurate. I am sitting in the drill shack on a rig right now while my AD is running the rig. There are 4 roughnecks out side working their asses off while we are tripping out of the hole. I have 3 immediate supervisors breathing down my neck and 2 company men that think we can do everything faster. Every time I sit in the chair I am responsible for the safety and the lives of over 100 men. And you think the stress level is low. Maybe you are thinking about a production platform or I miss understood what you are trying to say.
03-21-2008, 03:06 PM
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If you are actually working for a drilling contractor I would say yes. As far as working for a 3rd party like Haliburton I don't know. I don't know what their pay is like. I do know that their job is less stressful than mine.
03-21-2008, 05:11 PM
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stress is kind of low on a rig. Offshore industry usually works at a slow pace in the drilling side of things. The process itself just takes a long time. All of the tasks leading up to the offshore scope are what seem hectic and stressful.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
Going offshore on a ship is much better than a rig. Ships are usually bigger, have better accommodations, and they go into port every week or two. Then you can hit the local Wal-Marts and stripper clubs.
