Key Steps To Getting Employed Offshore

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Have you been considering a job with an offshore drilling rig but have no idea where to start looking? Offshore drilling rigs provide manual labor and practical work to individuals in search, but it can be difficult to get on with a rig if you are not sure how to go about the searching process. Listed below are some key steps to help you on your drilling jobs search.

Learn About The Entry Level Positions

Even the lowest level “entry” jobs on an offshore drilling rig do have pre-requisites. The most common entry level positions on an offshore rig are ordinary seaman, catering and roustabout. Since offshore rigs are considered ships by the Coast Guard, each rig is required to have the proper number of ordinary seaman to take care of maritime activities such as emergencies, maintenance of life saving equipment, and cleaning. Ordinary seaman have the opportunity to keep upgrading their license over time until they eventually become a vessel captain.

Since offshore drilling rigs require employees to live on the rig for approximately three to four weeks at a time, the companies typically pay catering companies to take care of food catering, laundry services and cleaning on the rig. It is fairly easy to get on with a catering company on a rig and is a great starting place for the hospitality industry.

A roustabout, or a roughneck, is a general labor position on the rig. Typical duties of the roustabout include loading and unloading rig supplies from supply vessels, cleaning and painting, and offering assistance to others on the rig. As long as roustabouts are hard workers and are eager to learn, it is fairly simple to climb the ladder to higher positions on the rig.

Know The Proper Job Resources

It is fairly uncommon for entry level offshore drilling jobs to actually be posted on companies websites. There is no need to get frustrated with this fact, because there are indeed entry level positions available. You just have to be aware of where to search for these jobs. Job boards are a great starting place. Rigzone.com has a very complete list of offshore drilling jobs available and is easy to use.

Linkedin.com is another great resource for finding entry level positions in the offshore drilling rig industry. Linkedin allows you to network yourself, such as other common networking sites online, and helps you learn who the recruiters are in the field. The oil and gas industry revolves around recruiters for individuals looking to get into the field, and there is no better way to learn who these recruiters are and network yourself than on a professional networking site such as Linkedin.

Finding drilling jobs can be a frustrating task if you are unprepared, but with proper preparation and determination you can quickly be on your way to an offshore drilling rig for work in no time. It is important to know the jobs available for entry level work and know where to look to find these jobs.