Are There Offshore Oil Rig Jobs In A Recession?

The oil and gas industry has been dealt a hard blow by the recession, but it is a long way from going down - there are still opportunities and offshore oil rig jobs available. The world runs on oil, and many countries, the US included, consider oil to be a critical part of their national security. As long as that fact remains, you never have to fear about not having a job. You may need to change employers from time to time, but that's not really a big deal, is it?

You've probably heard that some companies like Halliburton and Schlumberger plan to let go some of their workers. But did you know that Transocean is hiring up to 1500 workers for 10 new oil rigs being rolled out of the shipyards? If you lose your job with one company, all you need to do is polish up your resume and move over to a different company.

There are still many vacancies in the upstream oil industry, where they look for oil and also drill for oil. Many oil fields are growing old. They are not running out of oil yet, but they can't produce at peak capacity anymore. When oil hit $130/barrel, OPEC was only blowing hot air about not wanting to pump more oil. The truth was, they couldn't even if they wanted to. All of which means the oil companies need to hire more geologists and other workers to do oil exploration. Too many of their workers were hired in the 1970s, and have retired or are nearing retirement age now. In addition, out of 20,000 geology undergraduates every year, only 2,800 get their BSc after 4 years. Then they have to get their Masters degree and PhD degrees to become qualified to look for oil. Which is why even new geologists can earn $80,000 to $110,000 per year.

Apart from geologists, oil companies also need people to do the actual work on their oil rigs. Someone with just a high school diploma can earn $45,000 as an offshore roustabout by working only 6 months out of every year. Compare this with the salary for a similar job in construction - $24,000. The Department of Labor works with certain colleges to train disadvantaged youths for the oil industry. Those who qualify for this special JobCorp program definitely get a leg up in the oil and gas industry.

There is also plenty of room for skilled tradesmen. There are rig welding jobs, electrician jobs, mechanics, nursing and cooking positions available, especially for offshore oil rigs. These support positions still pay double the salary of other industries, and are worth trying for. With a first aid certification, offshore survival training certification and HUET certification in hand, job seekers with certified trades should have no trouble making the transition.

In spite of the recession, entry-level offshore oil rig jobs are still available. Oil companies find it difficult to get qualified workers, so they still pay well.