Kay studied for a BA Honours degree in Business at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. This was a 4 year course including a 3rd year Industrial Placement. After graduating Kay pursued a career in the oil and gas industry and she now works for a large Canadian company that operates in Britain, Canada, Sudan and Indonesia. Her day-to-day job involves the co-ordination and supply of oil, gas and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) from the company’s fields to the buyers.

Kay’s job is mainly office based but she has taken the opportunity to go offshore to gain a greater understanding of offshore life and the work that is involved. She states that the main benefit of working in the industry is simply “job satisfaction”. She also believes the levels of responsibility and the networking and commercial exposure experienced at such a young age are unrivalled.

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Andrew studied for a Business Studies degree at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. He hadn’t previously considered the oil and gas industry as a place of work but during his 3rd year industrial placement he spent a year working for an international oil and gas company. This experience convinced him to pursue a career in the industry.

Andrew works as a Commercial Advisor for Talisman, a Canadian operating company that explores for oil, gas and natural gas liquids. His day-to-day job involves the negotiating, drafting and implementing of legal agreements that allow the company to develop oil and gas reserves through infrastructure. Since being at Talisman, he has managed to implement agreements that have allowed the company to develop oil and gas fields. Andrew states that “It is hugely rewarding to see that your efforts have led to the production of oil”.

Working in the oil industry also brings fantastic rewards and benefits, including good salaries, share options, health care and great pension schemes. Andrew states that Talisman also has a ‘profit incentive’ scheme, meaning that if the company performs well, the employees share some of the benefit through their wages. He also thinks that one of the key benefits is the continual professional development and the fact that the skills you learn and develop are transferable around the world.

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Jenna studied for a BA Honours Degree in Law and Management at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. This was a 4 year course that included an industrial placement during her 3rd year. She spent her industrial placement (18 weeks) at Conoco Phillips (formerly Conoco UK Limited), where she worked as a paralegal. Following this, Jenna was asked if she would consider staying on and working part-time during her 4th academic year which she accepted. Upon graduating, she was offered a place on Conoco’s Commercial Training Scheme which again, she accepted.

When Jenna started the scheme she worked in the Legal Department for 6 months, this was followed by a move to the Southern North Sea Operating Unit which involved working closely with joint venture managers, reservoir engineers and drillers. During the final part of her 2 year training scheme she worked in the Finance and Economics Department.

Jenna says “Working in the oil and gas industry is fantastic, there are a lot of perks… there is no expense spared on your training and development, good pension schemes, good holidays, and at Conoco we have flexi-days”. She also states that she “can easily get up for work in the morning because she knows that her day will be full of challenge and interest”.

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Susan studied for a Maths and Economics degree at Warwick University. She works as a Gas Trading Executive for Conoco Phillips in London. Susan’s role on a day-to-day basis is to analyse the UK Gas market, this includes price, supply and demand analysis, as well as investigating the external factors that affect these. Once complete, this information is passed onto the traders with a ‘price perspective’ that shows where the market is believed to be heading. The traders then use this information to buy or sell.

Susan says “When I was studying I didn’t even know the oil and gas industry existed, but now that I am in it, I recognise that it is a very dynamic industry with huge opportunities available”. She also states that many people think the industry is purely engineering focused, but this notion is wrong and there are lots of opportunities for people from other disciplines.

Conoco Phillips is a global company with offices around the world, including Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Susan sums up the industry by saying “If you are interested in travel, want to develop your knowledge base and acquire new skills then join the industry… it is booming right now and is a great place to work”.

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Camryn Mathers - Mechanical Technician Apprentice 

Camryn was encouraged to join the apprentice scheme by a number of established industry professionals. When he left school, he chose the OPITO Modern Apprenticeship scheme over going to university because of it theory work and hands on experience. Camryn is looking forward to a long and successful future in the industry and hopes to join an operating company once his apprenticeship is complete. Camryn was recently announced as the winner of the prestigious OPITO Apprentice of the Year Award for 2007.

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Gordon joined the OPITO Modern Apprenticeship scheme in 2000 after leaving school. He is currently an instrument technician for BP. Gordon discusses the subjects he studied at school, the modules covered during the apprenticeship, the training he has been through and the benefits and opportunities now available to him.

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Paul Sanderson - Instrument Technician

Avid skier Paul Sanderson thanks his lucky stars every day to have a job that allows him to travel the world in search of his dream slopes. The 22-year-old left school after sitting his AS Levels and embarked on the OPITO Modern Apprenticeship scheme...  read more

Jonathan Miller - Production Technician

From stacking shelves in his local supermarket at the age of 16, Jonathan Miller now has the world at his feet after embarking on a rewarding career in the oil and gas industry. The 25-year-old is currently working as a production technician for BP on the operations side of the Azeri/Chirag/Gunashli project on the Deepwater Gunashli platform in Baku, Azerbaijan – a far cry from his home in Wick...  read more 

Iain Bell - Electrical Technician

Having been a RAF electrical technician for nearly 24 years, Iain finished with the RAF and looked into retraining. With the help of OPITO (in conjunction with PSN), he went through the ‘re-engineering’ programme. This took the skills and experience Iain already had and developed them for the offshore industry. He currently works as an electrical technician on an offshore platform and is looking forward to a long and prosperous career.

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Craig Wiggins - Offshore Installation Manager (OIM)

Starting out as a fresh-faced school leaver, Craig Wiggins never dreamed that 20 years later he would have worked his way through the ranks to hold one of the industry's most senior positions. The 39-year-old offshore installation manager (OIM) is responsible for...  read more

Bruce Duncan - Senior Project Engineer

The benchmark safety standards set in the North Sea oil and gas industry are being reinforced around the world thanks to UK energy workers like Bruce Duncan. A senior project engineer with Aberdeen-based well and pipeline service company Qserv...  read more

Angus McKay - Drilling Engineer

The thrill of exploring the planet for untapped oil and gas reserves provides just the stimulation and excitement drilling engineer Angus McKay was looking for from a career...  read more

Paul Mallinson - Control Room Operator

As a 16-year-old school leaver, Paul Mallinson had no idea what the future might hold for him. Little did he know that less than a decade later, he would own his own home, drive a nice car and have the time and money to indulge in exotic holidays in far-flung destinations...  read more

Sinead Kelly - Trainee HSE Advisor

Sinead joined the OPITO Modern Apprenticeship scheme in 1999. Sinead knew nothing about the industry until she left college. She has since spent four years offshore, two as an apprentice and two as a senior operations technician. Sinead is currently training to be a HSE advisor with Shell UK. Sinead discusses the benefit of working offshore, including the time off and the opportunities to travel the world.

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Neil O'Donnell - Hydrographic Surveyor

The daily grind of a 9am - 5pm office job proved just too monotonous for Neil O'Donnell who traded in his suit and tie to become a hydrographic surveyor working on projects around the world. The 24-year-old, who calls Plymouth home...  read more