What It Takes To Be An Oil Consultant

By Lilian Hinton


An oil consultant or oil industry consultant is sometimes seen as the backbone of the oil industry. They come from a variety of backgrounds within the oil industry and can make quite a hefty amount of cash from their work. Apart from this, they are also seen as experts in their fields and are admired for their work and experience.

It usually takes a firm decision to make it as an oil expert or if one wishes to become one. At the minimum, one should have at least four years of experience in his or her field to even qualify as one. However it is much advised that one become a consultant if there is at least ten years of progressive experience in a specific field to become effective and sought after.

The recent oil spill disasters and mishaps at sea make it quite lucrative for those who would want to enter the consulting field as regards safety and containment. Top this off with a fair amount of environmental safety experience and one could be in demand for quite a long time. Safety consultation experts have never been in demand as now.

There are basically two ways one can become a consultant. One way is to do it as a freelancer and the other is to go with an agency or firm. The former method or strategy is not recommended unless one has plenty of contacts, impeccable experience and skills and professional qualifications to the hilt. The latter method of joining a recognized firm or agency may in fact be the easiest entry point for this professional cluster.

Consultancy fees are usually paid by projects, and quite a few projects pay by the hour. Some projects can pay staring at 100 dollars per hour to over 500 dollars per hour. Thus if one has quite a few projects, one can make quite a hefty sum. On average one good project can earn one around US75,000 to US500,000 depending on the scope and coverage of the work.

Before becoming one, one should be prepared for quite a change in lifestyle. One may be required to work very strange hours and be required to travel to some pretty out of the way locations. Likewise, one may also be paid not based on numbers of days worked but on a milestone or performance basis.

The job will take a lot of hard work and discipline. This is because a lot of stress will be involved in terms of accountability and short and fast deadlines. Thus one should be able to produce top notch work on short notice, while being able to handle stress and time constraints as well.




About the Author: