| Personal details |
|---|
| Degree: | Geoscience (BSc) now Geology (BSc) |
|
| School(s): | School of Geography and Geosciences |
| Year of Graduation: | Jun-2010 |
| LinkedIn: | |
| National of: | United Kingdom |
| Employment details |
|---|
| Organisation: | Wintershall AG (BASF Group) |
| Job title: | Petroleum Geologist |
| Occupational Sector: | Geology |
| What has been your route to getting your current position? |
|---|
After graduating at St Andrews I was offered sponsorship from
ConocoPhillips to study at Imperial College for an MSc in Petroleum
Geoscience. During the course I applied for numerous oil and gas
companies, eventually landing a position as a geologist within Germany’s
leading oil and gas company.
|
| What does your job involve ? |
|---|
Although I haven’t started yet, I will start within a 2 year graduate
programme which will let me work on four 6 month placements in
countries like Argentina, Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Qatar etc. After
completing these placements I will probably be permanently based in
Germany although international work opportunities are likely to be
possible. The original position will allow me to explore and hopefully
discover oil and gas in some of the most extreme and harsh locations in
the world. With time my role is likely to become more specialised.
|
| What are the best bits of your job ? |
|---|
Travelling and getting to see the world will definitely be the best
part. Likewise the chance to learn multiple languages while doing this
will be extremely useful. Along with this I am getting to work on
interesting projects and more importantly using the skills I have learnt
over my two degrees. Finally the salary is one of the best within the
oil and gas industry making it very attractive!
|
| Why were you successful? |
|---|
Work experience was crucial. I tried my best to network with
professionals within the oil and gas industry in order to gain work
experience during my summers. Along with this I showed great enthusiasm
and showed that I was willing to live abroad without a permanent home
wouldn’t phase me.
Competition within this line of work is extremely high, with most
companies offering only one or two graduate positions. This means that
you have to have great determination and realize that a job won’t
necessarily magically appear. I was interviewed by five other companies
with positive feedback from all of them until being successful with
Wintershall.
|
| What skills/ knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
|---|
| The St Andrews course is known to be one of the best for field geology.
The ability to think on a wide range of scales in different dimensions
through this work has helped significantly when interpreting data. |
| What advice would you give to students wishing to follow the same path? |
|---|
Never presume that you will not get an interview or a job just
because of one thing. For example, I cannot speak any other languages
apart from English and everyone else at the final round interviews of
Wintershall were bilingual. Companies are often looking for individuals
that fit in their company, its not always just what you know.
|
