Oil and gas jobs in hot demand

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by: clickthrough
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Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 Time: 5:34 AM
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Great pay, travel opportunities, the opportunity to climb rapidly up the career ladder - it's no wonder that oil and gas jobs are in hot demand. Against a backdrop of frugal times, economic uncertainty and ‘downsizing' in other business sectors, the oil and gas industry has bucked the trend by remaining buoyant and stable throughout the global recession and has emerged stronger, fitter and anxious to fulfil an increasing world demand for petroleum products.

Our world dependency on oil and gas means that new fields are being opened up across the world. Major discoveries in Australia, Africa and Alaska means that the oil and gas industry is continually looking for more people to fulfil vital roles within the business - from rig work to ‘upstream' jobs. Job supply and demand has reached a point where anyone with a little ambition and a willingness to look at an alternative to the usual office job has the opportunity to earn an excellent salary, even at entry-level positions.

New alternatives

Admittedly, the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has caused jitters within the industry, and the consequences of the BP oil spill means that alternative methods of extraction other than deep water drilling are now considered to be a priority. But one oil spill does not signal the end of oil exploration under the waves, and resilient as ever, the industry will bounce back. As it looks to alternatives such as tar sands and tapping into onshore oil reserves, the industry is going to need new people to fill positions across the world. It seems that there are plenty of people who are willing to take on such positions, but if you are interested in an oil and gas career, where do you start looking?

Go online for jobs

The best starting point is the Internet. The oil and gas industry is a global one, with job opportunities all over the world. It makes sense, therefore, to utilise a global arena such as the Internet to track down jobs in the sector, rather than calling into the local Job Centre. There are plenty of international recruitment agencies that specialise in oil and gas jobs, offering everything from rig work and roustabout positions right through to graduate level positions in geology, oceanography and environmental engineering. Trying to track down the perfect oil and gas job for yourself can be hard, particularly if you are new to the industry. An agency will have direct contact with the exploration companies and their personnel departments, giving them access to a far greater variety of potential positions than you would be able to find on your own. As a result, they are better placed to marry up the right person with the right job.

Oil and gas jobs are sometimes advertised in the press, but the Internet has taken over from the old-fashioned ‘classifieds' section of the print media and sites are updated far more regularly than the jobs section in the newspaper. Agencies will also be able to help you construct an effective CV and even coach you for interviews to give you the best chance at securing a job.

So who is the industry really looking for at the moment? Anyone with experience in construction or engineering is in high demand, but even those who lack the formal qualifications can find a well-paid oil and gas job. The industry values hard work, initiative and ambition as highly as it does qualifications, so the lack of an engineering degree is no barrier to potential success. So if you're looking for that idyllic job we described in the first paragraph, why not check out some of the oil and gas recruitment agencies and find out a bit more about careers in the oil sector?

About the Author

Paul B Smith - Search oil and gas jobs and other engineering roles in specialist sectors: automotive & aerospace, petrochemical & process, mining & minerals, nuclear & power. Candidates can register CVs online and search jobs across all of our sectors.