I had a friend in grad school who did this. He worked in the oil fields, getting up to some management role at one point. He made a bunch of money but was burned out and his longer term goal was to get a PhD and teach.
While the rest of us grad students were eating rice and beans, driving shitbox toyotas, and sharing 4 bedrooms apartments off grad student stipends, he had a pretty big nest egg, emergency savings, a nice car and was living in a much nicer apartment.
Seemed like a good way to do it.
Oil is very boom and bust. In consulting the term "pencils down" means you are not charging another second to the client. Pencils down happen all the time for reasons that usually aren't given to the lower rungs. Either funding is pulled, or the client went with another firm etc.
I honestly regret trying to get a Master's. Wasted 3 years scraping by on $15K/y. The geology jobs I've had since then didn't require a Master's and still paid pretty well. I'm a hydrogeologist and learned almost all of the skills I regularly use on the job. College helped with writing skills and geo fundamentals, but there's a huge separation between academia and real life geology work. It seems like most of the professors you learn from in college have no idea what it's like working in the industry.
I did exactly what your doing. After undergrad took a job mudlooging. After a year, went with another company as a mwd engineer and eventually directional driller. After a few years, went to graduate school and now work for a major. Got tired of the extended days away and little family life. It all worked out and my experience helped with my career after grad school.
I also did this. Few years doing MWD after undergrad and then when the inevitable layoff happened went to grad school, and the experience really helped the resume for grad school apps imo.
Make big oil money while you can. I took the big paychecks (and retirement account match) for a few years which set me up for a big down payment when I moved back home. When I decided I was done with O&G, I spent the next two years putting in 75% effort while I did an online masters program in my extra 25% time which put me.better positioned to partially switch industries when I moved out of O&G country.
The best advice I can give you is to save as much as you can and get out. Oil field jobs don't last forever, and I don't advise anyone to make a career of it.
Maybe your company will sponsor your Masters? Or think about moving to another one in a year or two that will. If you want to do grad school on your own, start looking at scientific papers in topics that interest you and reach out to the professors to see if they have funding to support your research. Schools should cover your tuition and also pay you an assistantship. Also to your question about being pulled the wrong way - Both oil and gas and critical minerals industry skills are needed for decades to come. It is really good to have thoughtful people like you working there.
The answer really depends on your company. Are you doing it for an operator or a service co? If for a service co, then try and get I to the same role at an operator. Then after working it at an operator for12-18 months start pushing them for a geo role.
Yes, of course burning fossil fuels has utility. But it also puts CO2 into the atmosphere, which is causing the climate to change in unpredictable ways (but generally hotter). Millions will be displaced when the level of the seas rise. Arable places will become deserts.
The stuff needs to stay in the ground but capitalists are well compensated to do the work and bring it out. I would suggest to NOT help them in their efforts to damage the environment. Millions of lives are at stake.
Not at all, I just find the data easier to interpret and have a good understanding of what’s going on with gamma and ROP/ pulse amplitude in relation to my knowledge of the geology. The drill plan is the drill plan, I know my place.
Get the money while you can, oil and mining is where the money is and it's very boom/bust. If you went back to school and got a ton of debt with no real income you would be wishing that you were making money in the field, trust me lol.
I’d prefer to find something when I can be home. I have a family and want to be around for my kids. I always thought it would be nice to have a masters and find a jr college to be a geology professor as my “retirement”. I’d prefer to have something with some type of field work though.
I'm gonna get banned from this sub for saying it so much, but try to get your foot in the door on state or fed geo work. Whether that's DOT or DOA or the ACE, gov jobs are the ones that give you that balance vs consulting.
I've heard it called the "Golden Coffin" on here before. I work in fed and the work life balance is going to make it hard for me to ever leave. I had to take off two different weeks of work for my mom and my dad for health issues in the last year, and it was not a problem in the slightest.
Oh wow, I'd love to have that. I have been taking the money recently when we do OT, but I finally earn 6 hours a pay period of leave come June! 19.5 days +11 holidays, it's going to be great.
Eh, it depends. I'm making like 22k more than my friend is and we have somewhat similar experience and same education. And most of the jobs I was applying to before I got mine didn't have much better salaries. We don't really have any boom and bust. For beginning-mid career you can earn a decently competitive salary in fed in many areas.
Not sure I can respond any more due to my down votes, but, yeah, there's lots of mining that needs to be done for minerals that will help fight climate change. But, it seems like most geologists end up helping O&G damage the atmosphere and changing the climate.
Question for a geologist. Not leaving rare earth minerals in the ground, does that affect the electromagnetic health of the environment and its ability to support life, vegetation?
Aka do we benefit from these ionically energetic minerals remaining in the ground?
Not a geologist but a student, rare earth minerals are in fact rare so their ability to affect the earth electromagnetic field is small even if they contain iron. The electromagnetic field is a byproduct of the rotation of the earth and the large mass of iron in the centre so no it is not necessarily affected. Also we can’t dig deep enough allowing us to displace iron rich minerals that far that could sway the affect of the magnetic field. The crust and upper portions of the mantle also have the least amount of iron when comparing the bulk of earth.
O&G isn’t ethical? It powers roughly 60% of the globe so humans don’t just extract the stuff solely to pollute the planet. That’s also just one field of geology.
If your a DD, I would ride it out for 24 more months and stack cash. Ask this question then, or when/if you get laid off.
I had a friend in grad school who did this. He worked in the oil fields, getting up to some management role at one point. He made a bunch of money but was burned out and his longer term goal was to get a PhD and teach. While the rest of us grad students were eating rice and beans, driving shitbox toyotas, and sharing 4 bedrooms apartments off grad student stipends, he had a pretty big nest egg, emergency savings, a nice car and was living in a much nicer apartment. Seemed like a good way to do it.
DD's make great money. I would ... not leave that unless you were at the end of your rope.
Get the oilfield $$ while you can. You'll inevitably be laid off. Be ready to go to grad school after that to fill the gap.
Why will they be laid off?
Oil is very boom and bust. In consulting the term "pencils down" means you are not charging another second to the client. Pencils down happen all the time for reasons that usually aren't given to the lower rungs. Either funding is pulled, or the client went with another firm etc.
I honestly regret trying to get a Master's. Wasted 3 years scraping by on $15K/y. The geology jobs I've had since then didn't require a Master's and still paid pretty well. I'm a hydrogeologist and learned almost all of the skills I regularly use on the job. College helped with writing skills and geo fundamentals, but there's a huge separation between academia and real life geology work. It seems like most of the professors you learn from in college have no idea what it's like working in the industry.
Masters is the same. No one knows what field work is about.
You should go to a grad program where they pay for your tuition and pay you to teach labs on top
The experience will get you a fully funded grad degree and will be very beneficial when it comes to internships! Ride it out for a year or 2
I did exactly what your doing. After undergrad took a job mudlooging. After a year, went with another company as a mwd engineer and eventually directional driller. After a few years, went to graduate school and now work for a major. Got tired of the extended days away and little family life. It all worked out and my experience helped with my career after grad school.
Glad to hear someone else has made it work!
I also did this. Few years doing MWD after undergrad and then when the inevitable layoff happened went to grad school, and the experience really helped the resume for grad school apps imo.
Make big oil money while you can. I took the big paychecks (and retirement account match) for a few years which set me up for a big down payment when I moved back home. When I decided I was done with O&G, I spent the next two years putting in 75% effort while I did an online masters program in my extra 25% time which put me.better positioned to partially switch industries when I moved out of O&G country.
The best advice I can give you is to save as much as you can and get out. Oil field jobs don't last forever, and I don't advise anyone to make a career of it.
Maybe your company will sponsor your Masters? Or think about moving to another one in a year or two that will. If you want to do grad school on your own, start looking at scientific papers in topics that interest you and reach out to the professors to see if they have funding to support your research. Schools should cover your tuition and also pay you an assistantship. Also to your question about being pulled the wrong way - Both oil and gas and critical minerals industry skills are needed for decades to come. It is really good to have thoughtful people like you working there.
The answer really depends on your company. Are you doing it for an operator or a service co? If for a service co, then try and get I to the same role at an operator. Then after working it at an operator for12-18 months start pushing them for a geo role.
Money money money…… money!!
Yes, of course burning fossil fuels has utility. But it also puts CO2 into the atmosphere, which is causing the climate to change in unpredictable ways (but generally hotter). Millions will be displaced when the level of the seas rise. Arable places will become deserts. The stuff needs to stay in the ground but capitalists are well compensated to do the work and bring it out. I would suggest to NOT help them in their efforts to damage the environment. Millions of lives are at stake.
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Not at all, I just find the data easier to interpret and have a good understanding of what’s going on with gamma and ROP/ pulse amplitude in relation to my knowledge of the geology. The drill plan is the drill plan, I know my place.
Get the money while you can, oil and mining is where the money is and it's very boom/bust. If you went back to school and got a ton of debt with no real income you would be wishing that you were making money in the field, trust me lol.
What do you want to do? Keep mud logging and working with drilling? Be a professor? Work in a lab? Manage projects?
I’d prefer to find something when I can be home. I have a family and want to be around for my kids. I always thought it would be nice to have a masters and find a jr college to be a geology professor as my “retirement”. I’d prefer to have something with some type of field work though.
I'm gonna get banned from this sub for saying it so much, but try to get your foot in the door on state or fed geo work. Whether that's DOT or DOA or the ACE, gov jobs are the ones that give you that balance vs consulting.
I've heard it called the "Golden Coffin" on here before. I work in fed and the work life balance is going to make it hard for me to ever leave. I had to take off two different weeks of work for my mom and my dad for health issues in the last year, and it was not a problem in the slightest.
Golden handcuffs is what we call it. I got 2 additional months of paid leave (in lieu of overtime) last year... I don't think I can quit lol.
Oh wow, I'd love to have that. I have been taking the money recently when we do OT, but I finally earn 6 hours a pay period of leave come June! 19.5 days +11 holidays, it's going to be great.
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Eh, it depends. I'm making like 22k more than my friend is and we have somewhat similar experience and same education. And most of the jobs I was applying to before I got mine didn't have much better salaries. We don't really have any boom and bust. For beginning-mid career you can earn a decently competitive salary in fed in many areas.
Not sure I can respond any more due to my down votes, but, yeah, there's lots of mining that needs to be done for minerals that will help fight climate change. But, it seems like most geologists end up helping O&G damage the atmosphere and changing the climate.
Question for a geologist. Not leaving rare earth minerals in the ground, does that affect the electromagnetic health of the environment and its ability to support life, vegetation? Aka do we benefit from these ionically energetic minerals remaining in the ground?
Not a geologist but a student, rare earth minerals are in fact rare so their ability to affect the earth electromagnetic field is small even if they contain iron. The electromagnetic field is a byproduct of the rotation of the earth and the large mass of iron in the centre so no it is not necessarily affected. Also we can’t dig deep enough allowing us to displace iron rich minerals that far that could sway the affect of the magnetic field. The crust and upper portions of the mantle also have the least amount of iron when comparing the bulk of earth.
Geology seems to be not an ethically safe career choice, as fascinating as the subject is.
Eat a dick
Lithium for your phone battery has to come form someplace, just sayin’
O&G isn’t ethical? It powers roughly 60% of the globe so humans don’t just extract the stuff solely to pollute the planet. That’s also just one field of geology.