Ballistic

Can anyone give me an idea of what life on an oil rig is like.
The reason I ask is that I may be offered a job that entails regular 3/4 week stints on rigs around the world working as a sub-contracter on the communication systems.
Is it a good life or a nightmare from hell?

mart360

depends on how you handle pressure and working alone...

we have had several engineers who worked on rigs...

one complained that it was very rigid, he had too sign out his tools every morning and evening, and that he was restricted as to what he carry onboard..

he didnt especially like having to go through the dunk tank at yeovil as apart of his training!!

wont tell you the bad bits in case it puts you off


M

Ballistic

It's the bad bits I especially want to hear about so I can envisage the full picture.

mart360

ok,,,,

sad to say the other engineer was killed in the chopper taking him onto the rig..


you did ask



M

Chip

and of course the "dunk tank".

Chip

Tiggs

im guessing the "killed by chopper" was worse than "dunk tank"

Scooby_Dee

If you have a family the chances are you'll be on the rig at all the important times such as birthdays and Christmas - seemed that way for us for many years when my husband was working offshore.

highlander68k

Pros
----
Reasonable money, lots of time off (normally) to play with the Scoob, a technicians life is an easy life - trust me on that. Safety in the UK is very good. Might be good food. Travel the worlds airports and hotels.

Cons
-----
Away for a while, could get bad food. Could get an ar..hole boss - they're even worse out there. You may get very dirty or cold and wet etc. Missing important events etc. You can't just drop everything and come home either.

Overall it is a completely different way of life, and takes some adjustment both going and coming home.

Some foreign countries are bad for their safety. There is a lot of paperwork involved in the most simple job - especially when working with electricity.

The worst jobs to have are on Drilling rigs and ships. Everything is go, go, go. They treat you like crap too.

highlander68k

Nearly forgot.....

No alcohol, knives etc.

**** is essential and you should always take the opportunity to build up a nice collection when passing Schipol.

Carl Davey

iTrader: (3)

Jon is right when he says it's a totally different way of life. Not one that i found hard to become accustomed to though.

Rather than visit various installations i am core personnel on the same one every trip. Bonus of this is i know the place and the people inside out, the former is also the con however. Never the less i have been offshore for nearly two years now and am quite happy with my chosen career path.

You will have to do your BOSIET (offshore survival) and this involves a few trips in the HUET (dunker, get used the the acronyms ). It's no big deal and i actually found the rebreather training more of a challenge - trying to get your head to tell your body it's ok to go underwater and carry on breathing!

Safety is paramount but is so for a reason. It can be annoying but at the end of the day it's all there to protect you.

Go for it, the time off is brilliant (assuming you don't have to go back into the office when you get home) and the money isn't too bad either.

highlander68k

Some people used to volunteer to go in the office (hint - RH)

I've never regretted it and made some great friends while there. It's not the place to have enemies though, unless you're 6'10" or are a black-belt in 10 different martial arts styles (don't worry, I've only seen 50 or so fights in 6 years )

fatherpierre

Sounds like prison but with cash!

I did similar shifts for 4 years when I was in the RAF in Northern Ireland.

Worked my *** off for 2 weeks and was more or less confined to the base then got 2 weeks off.

Absolutely hated it - with a passion.

scooby595

depends which installation you are on and with which dutyholder. They all vary. Some you have to shave so the oxygen masks fit properly. No jewelery, no moby phones, very cold, very noisy on certain ones. Can be a good life if you make it good. Accomodation units all vary, some are nice and comfy, some are like cheap hotels. I hear the ones in Dutch waters are like staying in the Hilton !!!

Health & Safety is to a very high standard and always acted upon when things go wrong !!

HTH

Ballistic

Thanks for all of the interesting comments so far.
I'm still undecided, this is a tough one. I think I might ask to speak to one of the companies other site technicians for the run down.
Anyone got anything else to add?