AjanleKoko:
LOL.
What's there to be bitter about?
It's not like OP is in the oil company yet, he's just trying to 'break in'. Once he's able to 'break in', then I can start my jealousy trip, abi?

lymelyte: Once again, @trac and @all the bros in this thread,please I urgently seek advices from you all.
I am a graduate from production engineering(uniben) currently waiting for nysc batch c.I graduated with a 2.2, what are my chances of breaking into the E&P coy.i recently did a short professional course on drilling(Drilling operations & Equipments)which I paid 60k.Right now,i seriously feel that isn't enough as I need other qualifications to boost my chances but the problem is I don't know which certifications to go for.
I vehemently need all the help I can get from you guys in creating a path toward the dream of working in this sector.
The funding isn't the problem here as I can atleast take care of the bill with my HARD earn cash in acquiring the certification here in nigeria.
God bless you all as I quietly and patiently wait for responses.

Trac:

You can break into any industry. The professional course you took may have been introductory. One isn't enough. You also don't want to limit yourself to one area except you are certain the job-demand exist in that area and the competition is somewhat weak. So far, you have started, more might be needed. The goal is to present to employers that you have what it takes to be qualified amongst others. It might sound awkward because further developmental trainings causes a drain to your financial account but it is still considered investment.

lymelyte:
Bros trac,thank you so much for the response.I sincerely appreciate.So what other certifications are you suggesting i acquire? Hope to hear from you soon

lymelyte:
Bros trac,thank you so much for the response.I sincerely appreciate.Nothing here sounds awkward bro,because I am really up and ready for further developmental training and also acquiring demanding certifications.So what other certifications are you suggesting i acquire? Hope to hear from you soon

MzShawtiez:

I get ur point actually, dat d over dependence on oil as our major source of revenue is one of d causes of our economic problems thus callin 4 d need 2 diversify. But unless ur point was 4 d non petroleum engineers asking 4 advice on dis thread (I am nt against anybody's desire), the OP's intentions shudnt b criticised/discouraged. Its lyk telling a medical grad 2 consider oda professions (apparently I jst noticed jarus is d OP, lol). Jst incase my last post was harsh, I apologise 4 dat. By d way, I guess u think/feel money is d reason behind d OP's interest, but my dear, money is d only reason ppl work

Jarus:

Interesting. So what happened to Jarus as op?

Trac:

You are welcome. I will stress on one misconception Nigerians repeat. The very fact you did Engineering Production does not mean you must work there. The discipline helped you to understand the world from that perspective. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that you may not have heard of a graduate with a Bachelors in Food Engineering (or something like that) working on the oil site (as a drilling engineer) along with engineers who graduated with dedicated degrees. Such [a] person did not struggle but understood what he wanted and broke-in. Your objectives will have to be clear and your goals must be within the parameters of your concluded objectives. I am unaware of what Engineering Production as a university curriculum is. However, I do know where it is and how it functions on the engineering spectrum. There are three approaches you can go about this. That is: design-engineering, engineering-technology or engineering-production. These should be the parameters to which you itemise your objectives. Since you have started and funds is not a problem, you may want to intensify what you've started by going to a Well Control School and start with the fundamentals. You take all the servicing (well service) curriculum (as far as you can go). In other words, this objective is Well Completion (or Drilling and Oil Well Completion). Though, a certificate of completion and professional hours would be earned, this is professional training. This is the same training companies will send their entry-level recruits to attain. Despite university degrees, there are new recruits that still flunk. These are the people that make it difficult for you to get in when you fresh after graduation. Skepticism becomes core-factor when possible potentials are available (as far as employers are concerned). This is greatly exacerbated by the fact that deliberation by a group might have to be part of the process. I'm sure you are aware how expensive these professional trainings are.

Drilling and Oil Well Completion is the only reference I can present to you as a sole objective (from what you have stated). When you're done exploiting the training classes, your resume changes. You'll have something to complement your degree. Your mindset becomes different and you will be able to hold specialised conversation in manners the layman graduate (of same degree) will not be able to understand. If you are good with computer-aided process, don't omit this as well. Getting in is what matters now. Once in, the rest is to you.

Truly, you will have to interface with a person in the real world to get a deeper understanding of what I am talking about. Especially, design-engineering, engineering-technology and production. You aren't anticipating the short-run but the long-run, in the overall plan. If you've gotten this far, the "door" is all that is left. Everyone is trying to get through as well. As you talk to your instructors, they might leak certain things. At this point, you are realising that information isn't coming easy. Everyone is tight about it.

@bros trac,God bless you and your household a billion times.I can't believe you wrote this long for me!I am so grateful.You have really shed more light on issue that seem to be a problem for me and also ease my crude sense of thinking on the next step to take.If I am to select  1 from the 3 approaches you mentioned,it will be either Engineering-Technology or Engineering-Production".  Is there any internationally recognised well control school in nigeria preferably(lagos,delta or ph)? What if I don't want to continue with drilling and Oil Well Completion?However, bros I will always keep in touch for guidelines,hints,and tips on breaking in.

davide470:
In addition to what Sir Trac (correct guy) said, try and go for a training on PDMS (Plant design and Management software), and develop urself in it. .

lymelyte:
Sir david,thank you also for your suggestion.I am extremely grateful.If I may ask,how do I go about this PDMS,is it something I can learn on my own or go for the training? And can you please refer me to places I can get this training? Hope to hear from u soon.

davide470:
Its possible u learn it on ur own, bt its expedient u go for the training. U can check the Careers page, and search for PDMS, Piping Designers and Piping Engineers forum to get more info.

lymelyte:
Bros trac,thank you so much for the response.I sincerely appreciate.Nothing here sounds awkward bro,because I am really up and ready for further developmental training and also acquiring demanding certifications.So what other certifications are you suggesting i acquire? Hope to hear from you soon

jazinogold: pls were did u do d short
professional course on
drilling(Drilling operations
& Equipments) m also interestd in it.

lymelyte:
@bros trac,God bless you and your household a billion times.I can't believe you wrote this long for me!I am so grateful.You have really shed more light on issue that seem to be a problem for me and also ease my crude sense of thinking on the next step to take.If I am to select  1 from the 3 approaches you mentioned,it will be either Engineering-Technology or Engineering-Production".  Is there any internationally recognised well control school in nigeria preferably(lagos,delta or ph)? What if I don't want to continue with drilling and Oil Well Completion?However, bros I will always keep in touch for guidelines,hints,and tips on breaking in.

davide470:
In addition to what Sir Trac (correct guy) said, try and go for a training on PDMS (Plant design and Management software), and develop urself in it. .

lymelyte: Once again,i sincerely thank you for taking your time to write me @bros trac.I just came online and saw your post and i must confess,I appreciate your effort.Your message was well noted.The problem is that i don't have whom to confide in for advice.I certainly have some thinking to do.I went online to search for Mud and Well logging schools in nigeria but found none.I will look into PDMS and see what i can acquire from it.Meanwhile,Any form of advice and suggestion from you will be highly regarded and welcomed by me(marshallw00@yahoo.com).Thanks ..

Trac:

You are welcome. Don't be intimidated by PDMS. It's simple. It might deem as complicated but it isn't. Be sure the institution that will offer the training is accredited by AVEVA to administer it. If not you are burning money. When done, re-adjust your resume accordingly.

All the best as you find your career path.

lymelyte:
Thanks man..if I may ask,what do you mean by re-adjusting my resume?

Trac:

I meant, making the necessary amends once professional training has been acquired. You will list "AVEVA PDMS 12 Series - Certified" under the section labeled "Professional Training." This should be at the very last. In the "Competence" section, you list this product there and an abridged summary of what your capabilities are.

Trac:

I meant, making the necessary amends once professional training has been acquired. You will list "AVEVA PDMS 12 Series - Certified" under the section labeled "Professional Training." This should be at the very last. In the "Competence" section, you list this product there and an abridged summary of what your capabilities are.

demelza: Are you in school or not? Besides which school has a dept called petroleum and gas?

lymelyte:
Ok.Once again,thanks bro.

Chrisbenogor: Three pages gone, so I guess I should type here instead of the initial post I wanted to edit.
Let me start by dispelling some myths, there would be need for energy for many years to come in fact as world population increases the need for energy increases as well. There are however many forms of energy out there and so far the only one that has shown promise in terms of being abundant enough and also cheap to produce to take care of our energy needs has been oil and gas. This is the main reason why the sector is probably the highest paid engineering sector in most countries even with diversified economies at least it is in Nigeria. It's not a crime to want to be in the oil and gas sector but it is also challenging as well, few spaces many people available to fill them most especially at the entry level stage. I will be strictly speaking of engineering roles, this what I know about........

Stage 1-
What's needed? Have the minimum qualifications, it is true that there are people who studied plant science and jumpology working in the industry but if you are aiming for that professional role that would give you not just a good pay but a good career as well then you need the minimum qualifications of a 2:1 in any of mechanical, chemical, petroleum. Electrical. I have listed it that way because there really more mechanical engineering professionals in the industry in my opinion, it's a tussle between the chemical and petroleum while electrical comes last. I am speaking in terms of numbers here, I am saying if you were to break into the industry the odds are better if you studied these courses as a first degree. I know some people also say 2:2 as well but the honest truth is that it is difficult, maybe times have changed though and one thing I must stress is when an employer gives the minimum criteria of a 2:1 or 2:2 that's it everyone who gets past that stage is eligible for the job I would delve more into that later.


Stage 2
Understand the application seasons and start as early as 6 months into your youth service, most application processes take a long time so it's your duty to start on time and not wait until you finish your youth service. For instance amongst the ioc some have a yearly application process others are not as precise but come up as well during the course of the year. Apply for as many as you qualify for, in most entry level jobs experience is not much of a big deal the employers know this when they asked for fresh graduates. However start learning how to do a good cv, also start your preparation early in terms of how to pass aptitude tests. During my time I was planning to do my matters in the US so I had to prep for the gre which helped a lot as gmaths became a piece of cake.
I must stress that these tests vary from employer to employer, so you must learn the subtle differences like dragnet for instance. I should add that naija being the unique country that it is you have to shine your eye for 'past questions' I hear stories of questions that leaked I never saw any but that's something that's out there. It's difficult to compete with someone who solved the questions yesterday so I would say make sure at least you get a feel for the nature of questions that would be coming your way. Apply sit wait to be called for the tests where you would see people who graduated four years before you coming to write for entry level positions.


Stage 3 - The lucky break
Somehow most people I know in the industry who got into it by their own sweat had that lucky break, I did myself in fact I did not reply the interview email on time cos I felt yahoo boys were at it again, it came more than 6months after I had written the initial exam. I had to chin up after nysc went into balogun market arranged two aba suits for work in a bank, all the tests I had written had fallen through or I got zero response.



To be continued..........

I_am_strata: y now? I was enjoying it, i'm waiting.........

Chrisbenogor: ... I am not a fan of going for certifications, I think they are a scam and this is just my personal opinion because certification without experience is of no use to any serious person.


Cheers.