Rig Jobs

Working as a Roustabout

Looking for work offshore – Interested in Roustabout Jobs?  Get all the information you need before submitting in job applications.  Getting employed in the oil industry is very different to other industries, it is a good idea to find out what you should and should not be doing before spending money and time on the process.

Your first step – get to know the full job description of a Roustabout and what qualifications you will have to get once you land a job.   You may not have to complete the certification on your own as a lot of the oil companies will probably pay for your instruction, but starting with a basic offshore sea rescue certification could show that you’re really keen to get employed.

Working conditions?   This is a very labour intensive job and definately will need you to have good physical strength. You will  be expected to work 12 hours days for as much as three weeks at a time and then you’ll get plenty of time off.  Being able to stay focused on the work for such long hours is very important for your safety as well as the rest of the crew.

Although the position of Roustabout is extremely tough, you don’t need any experience so is a great first job. You can also move up quickly to better positions  and it is not uncommon for a Roustabout to move on to become Crane Operators or Drillers within a very few years.

Roustabouts earn around $300 per day with a starting yearly wage of around $45,000.

Your second step to getting a job is to make sure that your CV is put in front of the right people.   Firms that help to do this is the best as they know what the oil companies are looking for and will make sure that your CV has all the right details.  Make sure before you spend any money that you research the company first and see if you can find any good references on their service.

Finding work on offshore oil rigs is not extremely difficult, but does require a little helping hand. Although there are a lot of different positions available, the lower entry level jobs are the ones that are most often vacant due to the high level of internal promotion.

Many of the employees of offshore rigs find that they can specialize into very lucrative positions within a very short time frame and this makes for a far higher level of recruitment for these entry level positions than in most other industries. Even during recessions, this is one industry that does not seem to be as adversely affected as many others.

photo credit: mark i geo
So what are the positions that you can expect to be recruited into and what is the process of recruitment? What kind of qualifications do you need and how do you get your name in from of the people making all the decisions?

Here is a list of the positions that are available on all offshore oil rigs and what qualifications you will need for each. In addition, there are tips on how to get your name in front of the right people.

Entry Level Positions:-

* Materials Man / Woman
* Mud Engineer
* Offshore Medic
* Offshore Scaffolder
* Oil Rig Painter
* Rig Radio Operator
* Rig Welder
* Roustabout Jobs
* RSTC

Oil Rig Deck Crew

* Assistant Crane Operator
* Crane Operator
* Maintenance Foreman
* Roustabout Jobs

Oil Rig Drill Crew

* Assistant Driller
* Derrickman
* Driller
* Pumpman
* Roughneck Jobs

Other Positions

Control Room
Catering Department
Management
Electrical Department
Mechanical Department
Subsea Department