Quote: (02-19-2019 07:22 PM)Leonidas_B Wrote:
Thanks guys. I think I do it for a few years and stash away cash. This oil industry sucks
It's a double edged sword. I did the field expat service engineer thing in Indonesia for 2.5 years, and also worked a bunch in Western Canada/Tx so think I have a bit of a perspective here.
Overseas I lived in field camps for months on end where I'd eat rice 3 meals a day, to regular houses in Jakarta where I could go to malls, and stayed largely around the base working office hours inter spaced with month long stretches in middle of no where.
I wrote a bit about the expat life in an old thread:
http://www.rooshvforum.network/thread-18313.html
Which I largely still stand by now. As others said your time in Saudi will be for a cash injection to set you up. You will be treated fine, it's safe enough, but you will never be an equal in their eyes. I found some of my best friends I've ever met through work in Ab and Tx. Over there, I have okay friends who I'll look up when I'm there, but it isn't quite the same. I had a few friends who worked in Saudi. They said it was okay all things considered, but "all things considered" included making like 200k/yr with occasional large stretches of time off, so if you're an engineer you should be able to work that equation backwards to solve for quality of life and work.
Forget the idea of making it 10 years. That is the one big thing I would caution you on. Even if you physically can hack it for 10 years, it's in a lot of people's financial interests for you to not. Working internationally for these companies will red pill the fuck out of you if you're not already. Keep in mind these are companies that are often in bed with gov'ts and the military, and will readily use armies and violence (albeit indirectly) to protect their interests, so what leverage do you have if they want to fuck you? Keep in mind the rule of law protects you from the most egregious transgressions in North America, but over there not so. In Indo, they were literally making local engineers sign bonds saying that they would pay back double what a course cost (equivalent to like 3 years of their salary which they certainly didn't have) if they failed, quit, or were fired within several years.
They generally paid me, and well, because money was plentiful then. However every promise about days off, training to better myself, a nice transfer permanently out of the field, or any other perk was generally dangled in front of me got rescinded because they were busy then, and wanted me making them money.
Other's I've talked to in Venezuela were still waiting for pay cheques after years, because their bonus checks (constituting >50% of their yearly pay) were contingent on the service company actually getting paid by the gov't. How fucked up is that? Work now, keep working, and when/if we get paid, maybe you will too.
Other's in Brazil had like 250 days owed due to always being understaffed and being keen to 'help out' or being stuck offshore, but then because management wanted to clean up their books in '09 after the last big crash, these guys were given like 3 months notice to get their balance down to their yearly maximum of 50 days, or else they would lose the rest. How does one burn 200 days vacation in 90 days when you're not even allowed to take a weekend off? Well they suggested you 'manage' it.
We retroactively determined you worked 4 moths salary free! Thanks!
Despite all the shady shit I saw, the money set me up well. That said I'm stuck in a pretty niche area without a lot of experience in others(hence my push to get out of the field), so job prospects now are limited, especially since I don't want to live in oil towns any more. So I would also echo the save save save mantra. But your age would be another caution. When I got out in my early 30s I was frankly tired of living out of a bag, and having no life. Body can't take the 60 hour 'days' like it used to, and I'm honestly not as hungry as I was fresh out of school. I've dealt with enough BS to last a lifetime, don't need to anymore to pay the rent, so I don't. I found most people after 30ish in the industry got more and more picky about what they would or wouldn't accept, because they had the experience and didn't need the money, so if I were you I would either try and get some sort of quality of life assurances like 28/28 or more money. I always always see ads on job boards for SA, but never met anyone who directly worked for them so am curious why they're always so desperate for people. Anyways best of luck. I'm truly curious how this works out and what you think of it if you decide to go for it.