Myth #1: All oil and gas jobs are for people with a college degree or blue collar workers.
Contrary to this belief, there are a myriad of employment prospects in the sector, some call for the need of specific college education while others can be secured with relatively lower formal qualifications. Jobs in the sector encompass a whole gamut of responsibilities from checking the soil conditions and oil exploration, to drilling for oil wells, extraction of crude oil, refining, oil and gas sales jobs, and more.
As a matter of fact, when doing your oil and gas job search you will find that the sector offers the most diverse employment prospects and a wide array of skilled labor is required to fill various positions in the sector. The educational qualifications needed for these jobs range from high school and vocational certificates to post graduate and doctorate degrees.
Myth #2: The oil and gas sector only employs engineers in various disciplines.
Although the sector does offer immense scope for engineers, it would be inappropriate to suggest that the workforce of the industry entirely comprises of individuals associated with some branch of engineering. As a matter of fact, engineers make up less than 10% of the employees hired by the industry while oil and gas sales jobs are among the most sought after employment opportunities in the field.
Some of the common oil and gas jobs available include:
* Chemical and Environmental Technicians: While the chemical technician is responsible for soil and water testing, an environmental technician is entrusted the task of environmental and erosion sedimentation plans. Professionals who hold these positions are expected to possess in-depth understanding of environmental regulations and law and their application to the oil and gas industry. Both positions require at lest a two year associate degree in a related field (environmental technology for environmental technicians and chemical technology for chemical technicians)
* Soil Scientist: These professionals will need a four year graduate degree in environmental science and are responsible for conducting soil surveys and proposing soil management programs.
* GIS Specialists: They are responsible for creating and maintaining geographic information systems (GIS). These databases help the companies to capture, store, and analyze data related to the various oil and gas well sites. Candidates interested in these positions will need to go through technical school for relevant vocational certification and will also need a two or four year college degree.
* Associated jobs: While going through your oil and gas job search you will find that although the sector offers several specialty jobs, there is also ample of scope for generic positions; for instance, electricians, draftsmen and cartographers, drivers and compressor operators etc.
Myth # 3: Oil and gas employment is either available in Texas or the Middle East:
Although the Middle East does offer some lucrative job prospects in the sector and the opportunity to make money in a tax-free environment, and Texas does boast of many oil wells, several other areas of the United States and countries across the globe offer oil and gas employment opportunities. You could find jobs in the sector as far away as in Brunei or India or if you would rather live stateside, you can always look for jobs in Pennsylvania.
Myth # 4: Oil and gas employment is only available for men
This could not be further from the truth as the sector hires men and women professionals from various backgrounds, countries, and races.
Myth # 5: Jobs in the sector are nomadic
This is another popular misconception that turns qualified professionals away from the sector. While some jobs in the oil and gas industry do involve as fair bit of moving around, most stints are short term travels to foreign countries which involve learning or advisory work. Most companies ensure that their employees stay focused to one area to enhance productivity. Also, the sector offers several prospects for people interested in working in an office environment. The industry does provide a host of long term and sustainable employment opportunities working in the same area /region /country.
Oil and gas jobs are not only fulfilling and challenging but also offer impressive remuneration packages. Add to this the scope that the industry offers for oil and gas sales jobs overseas and it's not difficult to understand why so many professional vie to get into the sector. If you are looking for employment in the industry let OilandGasCrossing.com help you with your oil and gas job search. The site features thousands of listings in the sector. Sign up for a FREE trial TODAY!
