Wood Group jobs are not for everyone, though. Many positions in the oil and gas industry require long hours, dealing with dangerous condition, and learning new skills quickly. In addition to an often very impressive paycheck, those who can adapt to a challenging career in this fast-growing industry will also gain a host of less tangible — but no less important — personal benefits.
1. You’ll be More Resourceful
Working on location — whether onshore or off — is a unique experience. There’s nothing quite like it available in any other industry. While the specifics will vary base on your particular role, of course, unexpected challenges and the simultaneous need for improvisation and careful preparation are par for the course. After a short while on the job, working in nearly any “normal” office environment will seem almost shockingly easy.
2. You’ll be a Harder Worker
Long hours and frequent overtime are a constant fact of life in the oil and gas industry. These aren’t the sort of positions where you can just clock in and then clock out eight hours later. There’s serious work to be done, often with a short deadline. While this is one aspect of Woods Group jobs that not everyone is too happy with, the upside is that you’ll become a harder worker before you know it. Think of it as a sort of “boot camp” for civilians. You’ll come out of it with a much stronger ability to get things done than you ever had before.
3. You’ll be Comfortable with Long, Unusual Schedules
Strength and adaptability are virtues, both on the job and in life in general. Many Woods Group position require a period of non-stop work followed by a lengthy break. For instance, 14 days of solid work (long days and no weekends) followed by 21 days of vacation time. This all-or-nothing schedule is different than that of most other industries, but it has some definite character-building advantages. You’ll become comfortable devoting yourself entirely to a single task for a given period of time. It’s a valuable ability to have and one you aren’t likely to pick-up in the compartmentalized, nine-to-five culture of more conventional industries.
4. You’ll be Better at Handling New Social Situations
Oil and gas industry jobs routinely bring together people from widely different cultures, homelands, and economic situations. If you want to experience real diversity, this is a great way to do. Language barriers, cultural differences, and varying social expectations can be very challenging to deal with, but learning do do so can also be extremely rewarding.