Offshore oil rig jobs pay well, often up to twice the salary of an equivalent job in the manufacturing and construction industries. These high wages earned by workers without a college degree for doing physical work. An entry-level laborer could take home more than $ 45,000 each year for doing 6 to 8 months of work a year. A geology student with a major in oil exploration could easily take home double or triple that, fresh out of school.
Of course, these wages are fair compensation for the dangers and hardships faced by those working on offshore oil rigs. Despite all the uproar over the recent Deepwater Horizon accident (with 11 deaths), there were only two other major offshore oil rig accidents in the 2000s: the Mumbai High North in 2005 with 22 deaths and the Usumacinta in 2007. also with 22 deaths. These are pretty small numbers, considering that more than 400,000 Americans die from tobacco use each year (according to the American Cancer Society).
But if workers in offshore oil and gas jobs are not paid to face the danger of fatal accidents, why then the high wages? It is mainly the combination of two reasons: the large amount of profits made by the oil companies and the lack of experienced workers willing to stay. The simple fact is that there is a high attrition rate among front-line workers in the offshore oil drilling industry. Many offshore oil workers cannot bear the physical hardships they face: 12-hour shifts of strenuous physical work in a hazardous environment, the need to do this work non-stop for two to three weeks without a break (no weekends on board an oil rig and operations run 24×7), and having to work night shifts. Although accommodation is provided free of charge and quite comfortable, many also cannot cope with the noise that occurs day and night.
Returning to the high wages of drilling jobs, at one point these workers receive additional tax relief, that is, in certain circumstances, for example, when the oil rig is in international waters, an oil rig worker who you do not need to pay any taxable income. Not only that, you can also claim relief for your transportation costs, for example driving to and from the helipad to work, as well as driving to and from training. It’s even possible to claim personally purchased work gear like steel-toed boots and more polished suits. In addition to these, you can also claim a state tax exemption, for example, when you pay taxes for both your residence status and your employment status. Obviously, it is necessary to consult a suitable accountant or tax attorney for advice.
Of course, job seekers who have visited the Shell website or the BP website to search for openings abroad may wonder how they can find this type of job. After all, the only jobs that are advertised on the websites of these big oil companies are for high-level management positions like Regional Account Manager, etc. Unfortunately, the way modern oil drilling works is that the big oil companies outsource the operation of their oil rigs to large oil service contractors like Transocean and Halliburton, and then these mid-tier companies further outsource the actual work and production. hiring frontline workers to a great extent. smaller firms. These outsourced workers may or may not be included in the main contractor’s count, depending on the circumstances. For example, these contract workers may count when they lay off staff to increase their stock price, but not when they are expanding their operations.
With these facts in mind, the best way to conduct an offshore job search is to find and submit job applications to small oil drilling service companies and recruiters. They won’t always have a vacancy and rarely will they have a proper database to track job applications. Once such a company is found, put their details in an Excel spreadsheet and submit the resume. Repeat for each company every three to six months until you find a job abroad. Note that this is also how bulk resume submission services work.
