Our Perspective
This month our thoughts revolved around the major changes that will affect our work and careers in the future. And by all accounts, the future has already happened. A lot of old ideas have gone away, and others will soon follow. Scientists and other experts involved call it the "Post-World" which means to explain that old, established axioms are no longer valid, and long-held beliefs have been replaced by new ones. We have identified three "post-isms" that you might find apply to your work life even today.
Adding to that thought, The Economist in one of its recent issues focused on the importance of learning all through your life. This makes for very thorough and intense reading, and we thought we would share a couple of our own takeaway points as they might relate to you in your career.
As always, we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Your friends at Collarini
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NAPE Summit
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, TX
February 15-17, 2017
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Living in a Post-Everything World
When events take place that fundamentally change the way we see things, we sometimes refer to those times afterward by adding the prefix "post" to the event. Think 9/11. Or the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. But today you might hear the prefix "post" casually attached to words in order to describe a break with previously accepted behaviors or ideas. Here are just three "post" concepts that describe how work-life, companies, and career planning are changing around us.
Post-Employment. No, we don't mean that immediate time period after you leave a particular job. The idea behind post-employment, or better "post-permanent" employment, is that being employed for a prolonged period of time in a single, secure job is less of a valid concept today than it was in the post-WWII years. To be sure, there are still plenty of jobs with large companies that hold fair promise for longevity. However, the workplace, technologies, and therefore the demands on a worker are constantly changing in such a way that any old-fashioned vision of permanent employment may mislead the individual and may actually create a false sense of security. Better to think these days in terms of "current assignments" which requires the participants to think ahead about where the future opportunities will be found.
Post-Retirement. This is not meant to describe the "gone fishing" years after stopping to work. No, this term post-retirement describes the idea that many Americans either will not retire or plan to retire much later than has been customary before now. Many professionals are re-defining their careers for themselves wanting to remain active throughout their lives. There are plenty of reasons why people continue to work: insufficient funds to retire, the continuous enjoyment an individual finds in the work she does, the excitement of a new and different career, and the fact that a person is still healthy enough to be able to work. Either way, retirement as our grandparents knew it seems to be gone forever.
Post-Boss. In the age of globalization, our societies, economies, and corporations are no longer as homogenous as they were 60 years ago. International company relocations and worldwide social media have made cultural and demographic diversity in most developed countries around the globe the norm. Managers need to better understand the unique background, culture, and skills of all team members and how to utilize them successfully. This is not done by the old "iron fist"-style manager, but requires emotional intelligence in addition to competence. Knowing your stuff is not enough these days; pure technical knowledge and book learning are no longer enough for a manager to succeed. Being able to "pull it all together" is much more important than having the exact answer at any given moment. Soft skills are now more valuable than ever before, as human and social capital play a larger role in a company's success. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that English and Liberal Arts majors have seen an increase in employment opportunities and salaries due to the desirability of their soft skills for communication. This trend supports the importance of being able to lead a multi-faceted team effectively with empathy rather than being able to shine with only technical knowledge and savvy.
Maybe we have given you some ideas about how to look at your own world around you? Maybe you see some things that have dramatically changed from when you first started your work life?
Welcome to your own personal post-moment.
The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of talent available in our talent pool of over 24,000 experts. Please call our placement managers if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check out our website for more candidates.
Senior Level Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and eight years of experience with large service companies in roles of progressively increasing responsibility. Experienced in complex completion design for fractured completions and in integrating the results into major field optimization reviews. Also highly expert in completion execution managing large and complex hydraulic fracturing operations comprising multiple operators, massive equipment, and numerous vendors. Accustomed to performing within a fast-paced, deadline-oriented working environment. Experienced in the Utica, Marcellus, Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Marmaton, Woodbine, Cotton Valley, Travis Peak, Bossier Sand, James Lime, Pettit Lime, and various formations in the Permian including the Spraberry, Wolfcamp, and Bone Springs. Software expert in FRACPRO and Spotfire. Ask for P919
Senior Accounting Professional with a bachelor's of business administration in accounting and finance and 20 years of experience with mid-sized production companies. Experienced in preparation of tax returns for individuals, partnerships, not-for-profit organizations, and corporations; preparation of quarterly payroll returns; preparation of monthly financial statements, annual operating budgets, and long-range cash flow forecasts; and monthly state and federal royalty reports. Software proficiency includes OGSYS. Ask for A1717
Senior Accounting Manager and CPA with a bachelor's degree in business administration in accounting with 28 years' experience with mid-sized production and exploration companies. Experienced in variance analysis, accounts payable and receivable, forecasting, SOX compliance, financial accounting, internal real estate auditing, and non-operated and mid-stream auditing. Has overseen and supervised up to five full time accounting professionals. Software proficiency in SAP, JADE, Hyperion Essbase, Concur, and Paisley. Ask for A1754
Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and over 30 years of experience working for operators, engineering consulting firms, and a service company. Expert in SEC reserves evaluation and asset development. Experienced in unconventional reservoir analysis, economic evaluations, production engineering, completions engineering, project planning and development, and downstream LNG projects. Geographic areas worked include Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Software proficiency in ARIES, PHDWin, OGRE, @Risk, Prosper, GAP, MBAL, PETRA, Saphir, Topaze, and Fekete. Language fluency in English and Spanish. Ask for R1215
Petroleum Engineer with a master's degree and over 30 years of experience with major oil companies. Experienced in exploitation, reservoir engineering, property sales and acquisitions, production engineering, and natural gas supply and storage engineering. Effective as an exploitation team member with strengths in reserve management, economic evaluations, and field depletion studies. Excellent analytical, communication, planning and organizing, and interpersonal skills with a focus on the bottom-line. Highly energetic and self motivated with a commitment to tie individual goals to work unit objectives. Gulf of Mexico expert. Computer skills include Microsoft Office, PEEP, OilWat/GasWat, PVTLIB, Oilfield Manager, OWL, VIP, and various other PC-based programs. Ask for R78
Geologist with a bachelor's degree in geoscience and 10 years of experience working for small to mid-size oil and gas companies. Experienced in exploration, operations, development planning and sweet spot mapping . Areas of expertise include Lower 48: Anadarko basin, Forest City basin, San Juan basin, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Williston basin, Gulf coast, Utica shale, and the Appalachians. Computer skills include Kingdom Suite (SMT), Petra, Plan Plus Expert (digitizing software), Drilling Info, and IHS. Ask For G2447
Geologist and proven oil finder with a bachelor's degree in geology and 11 years of experience working for a mid-sized oil and gas company. Experienced in sandstones, carbonates, unconventional reservoirs, and many types of depositional environments. Multiple geographic areas worked, including the Permian, Fort Worth, and Anadarko basins. Software proficiency in Petra, GES 97, PI Dwights, PetraSeis, Petrel, Geographix, and Production Explorer. Ask For G2301
Reservoir Engineering Manager with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and over 30 years of progressive experience in the oil and gas industry working for mid-sized to large operators. Experienced in assembling and leading high-performance, multi-disciplinary technical teams, developing business opportunities, overseeing asset acquisitions, estimating annual reserves, and generating exploration prospects. Additionally experienced in field development, reserves evaluation, and field studies. Geographic areas worked include the Texas Gulf coast, south Louisiana, the Permian Basin, and the Arkoma basin. Software proficiency in ARIES, PHDWin, PEEP, Petra, Rose Risk Analysis, Geographix (PRIZM), IHS Power Tools, and SMT. Ask For M553
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Embracing the Principle of Life-Long Learning
In the most recent issue of The Economist, the editors dedicate a major part of the magazine to analyzing the global concept of professional life-long learning and how it affects industries, economies, and societies. This makes for great reading, as it explains the larger societal and technological forces that are changing the way Millennials will need to plan their careers to stay on top of their craft. In case you missed the article, here are three summary concepts that will be important to those who still have long careers ahead in the oil and gas industry.
Adopting a learning life-style will become as normal as a morning stop at the coffee shop on the way to work: fully accepted, easy from a transaction perspective, with no concern for resource availability i.e. schooling centers located at every corner. While we are not quite there yet, early converts should inhale the learning habit right now; everybody should be identifying the schooling resources he needs for his respective career field now. More schooling infrastructure will follow in the years ahead.
Adopting a life-long learning habit is not negotiable. Technical advances in machines and smarter automation practices, which are on the horizon now, will change work beyond recognition. Many of these changes are already here, but due to a certain slowness of acceptance by industries and the general time it takes for changes to be fully implemented, old ways have been allowed to continue for a while. In short, many of us working with dated knowledge and tools were able to muddle through. This will no longer be possible as new machines and automation methods find their way into the workplace and require educated users and operators.
There are no exceptions to what types of work will be affected. The answer is: All of them! Physically demanding work will further be replaced by machines that are stronger and more consistently precise. What will be needed are mechanics who can operate, monitor, and service very complex machinery through computing systems. Not many handheld screwdrivers will be required anymore. (Some countries are farther along than others. Germany, a country with an economy based on skilled labor and apprenticeship programs, has officially introduced and is training young people to become a "mechatronic" - an amalgam of an electronic mechanic).
According to DOL numbers quoted in The Economist, the number of office, clerical, and purely administrative jobs in the U.S. has shrunk from 25.5% to 21% over the past ten years. These jobs have and will continue to be replaced by subject matter experts who can navigate complex systems and process their own data to achieve results.
Degreed professionals will feel the effect as well, possibly with the most seismic change. A degree early in life will no longer be a ticket for a life-long career and will simply show that the individual has the ability to learn conceptually. Watch for this "Ability to Learn" to show up on job descriptions as soon as companies begin to understand fully how much and how fast IT, knowledge systems, and automated machinery have changed around them!
To prepare yourself requires a completely new way of looking at your life routines. Think about learning as you do about regular gym attendance, visits to your dental hygienist, or parent teacher conferences. Keeping up your career will be non-negotiable maintenance events.
To start with, you should take an honest inventory of your own situation, list all knowledge that is expected of you or that might be coming your way, and compare it to your own level of expertise with a calm and cool mind. In a second step you should investigate what other individuals are doing and what their employers are expecting of them.
This is not a simple one-two process. It will take time, research and resolve. But like every journey, it starts by taking the first step.
Keep us posted.
Connecting the Industry's Experts...
Collarini Energy Staffing is a full-service agency specializing in the placement of personnel including the disciplines listed below.
Collarini Energy Experts manages projects to provide Fit-for-Purpose solutions for upstream oil and gas using these same experts.
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