Seadog, maybe it's time to make a change then! There must certainly be related fields that have better work-life balance.
I dont know much about petroleum engineering but presumably a field job is a position at one point in the chain of very closely related jobs?
I know that for scientists involved in oil or mining, there are three layers of work - the exploration field guys on the rigs/mines with hours like yours, the intermediate guys at a processing center that is still abroad but in a city near the rig/mine, and then the interpreters/analysers back at headquarters in the home country. You'd need some retraining but it wouldn't take too long, and field experience is always seen as invaluable by people in an office role further down the stream.
Obviously engineering isnt the same, but Im sure there are chains of closely related jobs like these, surely it wouldn't be too hard to move away from field work?
There's always a way to pivot your skillset. You've got to look for solutions. If you're at all interested in marketing/business, then you DEFINITELY have options. Guys coming from technical background who develop marketing skills are always massively in demand.
Or hell could be an international teacher and teach science or maths, in english, to english-speaking students. Get 3 months off per year, get a western wage and work in an exotic country. Start researching your options.
I dont know much about petroleum engineering but presumably a field job is a position at one point in the chain of very closely related jobs?
I know that for scientists involved in oil or mining, there are three layers of work - the exploration field guys on the rigs/mines with hours like yours, the intermediate guys at a processing center that is still abroad but in a city near the rig/mine, and then the interpreters/analysers back at headquarters in the home country. You'd need some retraining but it wouldn't take too long, and field experience is always seen as invaluable by people in an office role further down the stream.
Obviously engineering isnt the same, but Im sure there are chains of closely related jobs like these, surely it wouldn't be too hard to move away from field work?
There's always a way to pivot your skillset. You've got to look for solutions. If you're at all interested in marketing/business, then you DEFINITELY have options. Guys coming from technical background who develop marketing skills are always massively in demand.
Or hell could be an international teacher and teach science or maths, in english, to english-speaking students. Get 3 months off per year, get a western wage and work in an exotic country. Start researching your options.