Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
Luckily I do neither, because they both seem (are) awful, also don't know any engineers who are unfortunate to have those jobs though I know they exist. The downstream of the wellhead stuff is pretty boring.
I have always thought and continue to think you have a warped view of the oilpatch. There is a reason these oilmen build and sell companies over and over and are worth vast sums of money that they do not have to work for generation. Like Jim Gray, 80 yr old guy starting a new company. I am sure you will say its greed and its part of that, but it is extremely exciting. Its like VLT's but with much better odds and your skill actually determines how well you do.
If you are gambling on spending $7MM on drilling this well, something that could make or break the company, its exciting.
Maybe I am biased because I spent the 1st 5 years of my career working for the environment telling myself that at least I had job satisfaction because I was 'protecting the public'. I know a crappy, soul destroying job when I see one.
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Then that answers Muta's question pretty clearly - some people really do get excitement out of the industry and what they do. And that's good - it means they bring a passion to the industry that is required to keep it as strong as it is.
I think Muta might be referring to "pie in the sky" career choices, and how many people actually follow through on making it a reality. Most people in this world never get that pie, for many different reasons - happiness, comfort zone, persoal circumstances, golden handcuffs, etc.
I'm in software and I benefit quite tremendously from the O&G industry. However, I'm glad I have a skillset where I can branch out from just one industry - and I believe that skillset can make me happy even if I choose to totally reverse roles / location in my career. Because of that, I feel personally satisfied that I can grow and expand my career the way I want to, and not be bound by one field of work or industry. And, of course, it's how much you want to push yourself.