Offshore jobs on oil platforms pay well, often double that of equivalent jobs in manufacturing and construction. These high salaries are earned by workers without college degrees doing manual labor. Entry-level craftsmen work 6 to 8 months a year and take home over $45,000 a year. A recent geology major majoring in oil exploration can easily double or triple their income.
Of course, these salaries are fair compensation for the danger and poverty faced by those working on offshore oil rigs. Despite all the hype surrounding the recent Deepwater Horizon accident, which killed 11, there have been only two other offshore oil rig accidents in the 2000s — the Mumbai High North accident in 2005, which killed 22 deaths, and Usumacinta in 2007, which also had 22 fatalities. Considering that tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans each year (according to the American Cancer Society), these numbers are pretty small.
But if workers working in oil and gas offshore are not paid for the risk of fatal accidents, why are they being paid sky-high wages? This is mainly a combination of two reasons – the huge profits of the oil companies, and the lack of experienced workers willing to stay. It is a simple fact that there is a high turnover of frontline workers in the offshore oil drilling industry. Many offshore oil workers can’t stand the physical labor they face – 12 hour shifts of grueling physical work in a dangerous environment that requires two to three weeks of non-stop non-stop work (no weekends on board) Oil rigs and operations 24×7), and had to work night shifts. Despite offering free and reasonably comfortable accommodation, many people can’t stand the constant noise around the clock.
Going back to the high salaries of drilling jobs, at a certain point in time, these workers can get additional tax breaks, that is, in some cases, such as when the oil rig is in international waters, the oil rig worker does not need to pay any income tax. Not only that, but he can also apply for waived transportation expenses, such as driving to and from the heliport for work, and driving to and from training. Even personally purchased work gear such as steel-toed boots and rain suits can be claimed. In addition to this, he can claim a state tax deduction, for example, when he pays taxes for both the state of residence and the state of work. Obviously, it is necessary to seek the advice of an appropriate accountant or tax attorney.
Of course, job seekers who have visited Shell’s or BP’s websites looking for offshore vacancies may be wondering how to find this type of work. After all, the only jobs advertised on the sites of these major oil companies are for senior management positions such as regional account managers. Unfortunately, the way modern oil drilling works is that the major oil companies outsource the operation of their oil rigs to large oil service contractors like Transocean and Halliburton, and these mid-tier companies further outsource the actual work and hiring of frontline workers to much smaller company. These outsourced workers may or may not be placed under the general contractor’s headcount, depending on the circumstances. For example, they might count those outsourced workers when laying off workers to boost stock prices, but not when expanding operations.
Given these facts, the best way to conduct your offshore job search is to seek out and apply to small oil rig services companies and recruiters. They won’t always have vacancies, and they rarely have proper databases to track job applications. Once you find such a company, put their details into an Excel spreadsheet and send your resume. Repeat for each company every three to six months until you find an offshore job. Note that this is how the bulk resume submission service works as well.
