Another oil field ???

[masterburn]

That mud business sounds great !! I do like chemistry how's the pay ? I mostly wanted to MWD because of the future career opportunities is it a lot of hard working labor ? And how do I get hired as a mud man no one ever talks about the mud man haha would like some info thanks .

[Penguin_Racecar]

I know Schlumberger will hire MWD specialists with just about any type of degree if they feel you fit what SLB's looking for attitude wise. Schlumberger's MWD side of the business is called Pathfinder in Calgary now, fyi.

[masterburn]

I wish i graduated I'm still in school haha

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by vadeit
Don't listen to Graham_A_M, it is obvious he has no idea what he is talking about.

Of course not, no I just worked in Wireline & assisted in Frac jobs, as well as talked to *countless* people in various positions in MWD.

[lasimmon]

The only mud man I know that makes really good money works something stupid like 28 days a month.

Not for me haha.

[SKR]

Originally posted by masterburn
That mud business sounds great !! I do like chemistry how's the pay ? I mostly wanted to MWD because of the future career opportunities is it a lot of hard working labor ? And how do I get hired as a mud man no one ever talks about the mud man haha would like some info thanks .

Is being a mud man a lot of hard labor? Ha. No, it most definitely is not hard labor. You have to hump your kit from your truck to the toolhouse or wherever on the rig you can do your mud checks, and then hump it back when you're done.

There are times when you have to be on location for longer, from hours to days if they're having problems. And most of the time, their problem is your problem. There are only three things in the hole: the rig's pipe, the directional company's tools, and your mud. It's rarely the tool's fault and it's never the pipe. But those days don't happen that often, they pay a lot better, and the office will do everything they can to get someone else out there to help you out as soon as possible.

It's been almost seven years since I started s I might be wrong on this, but starting gross pay is probably ~$75,000 to start with some effort, and closer to $90,000 if you work hard. The high water mark for a staff hand would probably be $125,000 to $130,000. Consultants will gross more, but they're the first ones to get cut loose if the work slows down.

Baroid (Halliburton) and M-I (Schlumberger) are the two companies that I know would hire students and new grads. They will train you. Canadian Energy Services and Marquis Alliance are two other big companies that you could look into. There are lots of smaller companies that would probably want experienced hands like Q-Max, Hi-Tech, Prairie Mud, Mudco, Prodrill, DMK, Matrix, Dril-X, Techstar, etc, that you could look at after you have some experience. But Baroid and M-I are probably your best bet and will probably have the most room for growth.

[SKR]

Originally posted by lasimmon
The only mud man I know that makes really good money works something stupid like 28 days a month.

Not for me haha.

I think I'm averaging something like 10 days a month this year, and I'm almost to $60,000 through 7 months as a staff hand.

Even if I do get busier, there's always breakup. That's good for a month or so of days off usually.

[msommers]

Man if you like Chemistry and want to do O&G stuff, do research work for Shell!

[masterburn]

Man, I considered research, truth is the science field doesn't get paid very well I can become a teacher which is a boring job, work as a lab technician for 16 dollars an hour, go into research with a bachelor level which is around 40-50k there called research assistants, basically anything in the science field less than a PHD won't make you much even post doc start at 40-50k for a good couple years till they get a tenured seat at a university or work in the industry. OR Instead of all that like many I can do the latter and choose the oil field. Hell the average trades guy has a higher earning potential then us.

Right now my consensus on jobs prospects are 1. MWD, pays good I like the work, I like the eventual promotions if I work hard enough. 2. Mud Man, involves quite a bit of chemistry and talking to the other guy on the forum it seems like they don't care what kind of chemistry. 3. Take the chemistry route like the other guy start at 40-50k 4. Lease hand, rough neck.

Do these choices seem fairly decent ?

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by masterburn
Man, I considered research, truth is the science field doesn't get paid very well I can become a teacher which is a boring job, work as a lab technician for 16 dollars an hour, go into research with a bachelor level which is around 40-50k there called research assistants, basically anything in the science field less than a PHD won't make you much even post doc start at 40-50k for a good couple years till they get a tenured seat at a university or work in the industry. OR Instead of all that like many I can do the latter and choose the oil field. Hell the average trades guy has a higher earning potential then us.

Right now my consensus on jobs prospects are 1. MWD, pays good I like the work, I like the eventual promotions if I work hard enough. 2. Mud Man, involves quite a bit of chemistry and talking to the other guy on the forum it seems like they don't care what kind of chemistry. 3. Take the chemistry route like the other guy start at 40-50k 4. Lease hand, rough neck.

Do these choices seem fairly decent ?

Frankly, your choices seem like your already limiting yourself to grunt work. Why are you solely focusing on the paycheck anyways? The check wont matter if you hate your life every single day.

Get into fracing, im in it, and it pays extraordinarily well, no grunt work, no field work (at least for me), never have to leave the city, (unless i volunteer for field training). I got a BSc in chem/bio

[masterburn]

well Goal is to make as much money as I possibly can as fast as I can, go back for masters then start finding a comfy office job in the oil field, but I need to make as much as I can so I live comfortably while doing my masters

[93VR6]

Originally posted by masterburn
well Goal is to make as much money as I possibly can as fast as I can, go back for masters then start finding a comfy office job in the oil field, but I need to make as much as I can so I live comfortably while doing my masters

Stick it out with school until you are done, get summer internships if you can but personally I woulnd't take a year or more off to work oilfield and most companies don't want to hear that you're only working for short period of time before jumping ship. You don't want to end up as one of the guys that says they only want to work in the field to get some money and then get stuck out there forever, the story is far too familiar.

[msommers]

Depends what kind of research your supervisor has and where their funding is coming from. Industry funded research doesn't necessarily mean you're eating KD while doing your Master's.

From what I can tell, they'd much rather you have a computer sciences or engineering degree for MWD than chem. But I mean, if you like Chem, MWD really has nothing to do with that at all. Mud man is probably the best of Chem/Pay/O&G if research is out the window. There are still plenty of fluid research going on and who knows, you may be put in the forefront of O&G research which could lead to huge potential(s). Hell a company I know hired a chemist to make their own acid frac'ing recipe and God knows he wasn't cheap.

Personally I think it'll take a lot of willpower to go back to do your Master's. I've thought about it but I really don't have a project in mind that interests me that much to give up how much money I'm making. Then again, I was so tired of school when I graduated that the thought of two more years was nauseating. However, all the school knowledge would still be moderately fresh and a target would have been set I suppose. Even typing this out now has made me realize how much harder it will be to go back to do a Master's and probably would have been easier to do it right after even if it would have sucked. Ahh frick who knows now haha.

[ExtraSlow]

Here's a question, why do you want your masters?
What if you could have the same career potential without it?

[masterburn]

Well doing a masters isn't really about earning potential it more about what your interested in and want to research in. If your doing graduate school for money your doing it wrong lol the average plumber makes more, unless you go into med school, dental etc... As for oil companies not liking it I was thinking more on the lines of going out getting experience then going back to the company later for a more suitable decision. This was very insightful and I want to thank you all, coming summer I'll try and look for fracking and mud internships, which brings into mind is it possible with everyone talking about spring breakupd and all

[CokerRat]

OP: Consider the following:

- Chemical companies (eg BetzDearborn, BakerHughes, etc.)

- O&G operating companies as a lab tech (entry job with potential to move up to being a specialist in analyses, fouling, corrosion, specialty chemicals, etc..). Companies like Syncrude and Suncor have extensive labs at their major facilities. Someone above mentioned Shell's R&D center in Calgary. Syncrude has one in Edmonton too.

[masterburn]

I appreciate it but in the science world R&D bachelor will always make 40-50k, 60k at most, the higher position will almost always be given to masters. With that kind of earning potential, Why not take up a trade for 80-100k. Therefore, I'm trying to get into a oil field to get a higher earning potential

[msommers]

Because you could hate trades everyday of your life even if it made you more money. Fuck man I was making amazing cash at 18 doing Electrician work out of town but I hated it. I hung on for almost 3 years and said fuck this. Went to uni for a total of 6 years before I found something I liked and finally completed. Yeah I understand where you're coming from and everyone seems throws around 100K like it's peanuts but seriously, think about your future. DO NOT go into a career with money in mind or you'll wind up completed disappointed or hating everyday of your life.

Take it from me man. I gave up my sports car, a sizeable down payment on a house, taking the bus all the time and using my mom's car, and making barely any cash for 6 years to go back to school and find a new career path. It was a lot of sacrifice but worthwhile.

If you genuinely like chem, find where that is useful in the industry that gives you the most flexibility and interest. Maybe water quality, environment analysis/assessment might be in your alley. Oil companies love to bitch about how expensive Worley Parsons is for oil spills

[masterburn]

Yea I know what your saying msommers, that why I want my degree first and all, make quick bucks for a few years enough for a down payment and stuff. Then go back and find my true career, I figured it might be easier for me since I already have a degree in hand, I can just pop into a masters program or some other program down the road. Who knows maybe oil might actually my true career if I can end up in an office job in Calgary, I don't see myself being away from my future kids or wife all the time like some of the guys up there do though.

[vadeit]

masterburn, may be I wasn't clear when I was chatting to you but it was essentially what the last posters have been saying. Don't chase $$ straight out of school, chase experience. You put your dues in for 3-5 years; learn a lot, prove yourself then the money comes.

I did straight out of school what CokerRat suggests; go work for a chemical company that is involved in the O&G industry. All the big ones have excellent training and once there if you work hard you can essentially go anywhere; dollar wise, job wise (R&D, sales, technical, support) and location.

Look at Baker, Champion Technologies, Betz (owned by GE now), Nalco, Weatherford, Schlumberger (own MI Swaco), Halliburton (own MultiChem) and so on.