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Page added on September 5, 2015
Millennials: What they Really Think of the Oil, Gas Industry
While most of the news surrounding the oil and gas industry this year has involved the price of oil, a fair amount of conversations have included the Great Crew Change and how the new workforce majority – millennials – will fare in an industry led by seasoned professionals. Millennials have already surpassed baby boomers and Generation X in number in the U.S. workforce and they are expected to comprise 75 percent of the global workforce by 2025, according to a May 2015 report by Pew Research Center.
There has been much attention given to millennials recently, but what do we know about this cohort of young workers? Rigzone conducted a global survey of more than 800 millennials – born between 1981 and 1997 – in the oil and gas industry to explore what attracted them to the industry, what type of leadership they prefer and what makes them tick.
The Millennial’s Job Search
The cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry lends itself to occasional ups and downs and with the current industry downturn that began in late 2014, there has been a lot of focus on job search. Oil and gas companies have had to cut back on capital expenditures (CAPEX) and place projects on hold. Recruiters are making efforts to maintain their candidate pipeline as well as exploring new ways to hire millennials. Meanwhile, millennials are especially aggressive in how they are attacking the job search.
Our survey revealed that industry-specific job boards, such as Rigzone, are the preferred means of job search. More than three-quarters of millennials use industry-specific job boards; 59 percent use generalist websites such as Monster and CareerBuilder; and 52 percent use social media. Thirty-six percent of millennials use career fairs as part of their job search. Additionally, more than half (55 percent) of millennials believe career fairs are effective when looking for jobs.
More than Money: What’s Important to Millennials
Money isn’t everything. While some may dismiss this as merely a cliché, it is true when it comes to the millennial respondents and what they find important in a job. According to the survey, more than anything, millennials want to be challenged. Twenty-three percent said having challenging projects and tasks was the most important factor when considering an employer, followed by opportunities for advancement (21 percent), and then money (20 percent).
When it comes to their leadership, almost half of millennials (45 percent) prefer a manager who is trustworthy and honest. One quarter of respondents said they value leaders who have experience and industry knowledge and 16 percent want to be mentored and coached by their manager. Millennials desire an honest and experienced leader who will train and help them become better workers.
The preferred work environment for the overwhelming majority (72 percent) of these twenty- and thirty-something respondents is a mixture of a traditional office environment plus some remote work.
A 2014 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that millennials consider international experience vital to a successful career. According to the report, 71 percent of millennials want to work abroad at some point in their career.
Oil and gas is a global industry and while Rigzone’s survey found that global travel opportunities ranked lowest among millennials in terms of importance, almost half of millennials surveyed (48 percent) expressed that the opportunity to work globally was the most attractive thing about the industry. This reveals that though working globally is attractive to millennials, the opportunity to travel globally isn’t a determining factor in choosing an employer.
What Value Do Millennials Bring to the Industry?
The millennial worker communicates differently, values different things and expects different things from their employer. While some are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to enter the industry, many millennials are already working in oil and gas and experiencing some of the industry’s challenges firsthand.
According to our survey, 70 percent of millennials think the price of oil is the top challenge for the oil and gas industry today, and they’re probably right. Tumbling crude oil prices in late 2014 sent the industry into a global tailspin and became the catalyst for layoffs, bankruptcies and restructuring efforts. Additionally, 49 percent of millennials find safety to be a top challenge in the industry followed by the global shortage of skilled workers (40 percent) and a lack of diversity in the industry (39 percent).
But millennials are confident they can help address the challenges plaguing the oil and gas industry. In fact, 42 percent of millennials believe problem-solving is the biggest asset they bring to the industry, third to only technical/digital knowledge (54 percent) and innovation (60 percent).
How to Attract and Retain STEM Students
The retiring of Baby Boomers and onslaught of younger workers has created a workforce shift that has added to the shortage of skilled workers in the oil and gas industry. The United States in particular has struggled with attracting female and minority students to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields and graduating them, though efforts have increased.
When asked what can be done to make the oil and gas industry more appealing to young STEM students, our surveyed millennials’ responses were varied, including everything from offering more scholarships to more field exposure and training opportunities.
Here are a few survey responses:
- “Actually reaching out to [students] more while in college and funding innovative projects and technology for improving energy efficiency. We know we’re going to inherit awful circumstances due to centuries of rising carbon emissions. We want to work to improve our energy consumption in clean manners.”
- “Offer better perception of job security within the industry … push forward more family-friendly schedules. Our generation is no longer willing to just work away from home year-round to make money. They are more geared toward being there for their families. Our fathers were never home due to work, leaving a negative perception of that sort of life. We want to be able to provide for our families prosperously, but also watch them grow up.”
- “A clearer understanding of the opportunities available … Everyone goes to college for [a certain] degree, but no job board says ‘looking for [a certain] degree.’ The positions don’t always align with traditional degree plans. I think job postings need to highlight what traditional curriculum has resulted in the best fit for the position. Perhaps a study could be done to see who has been successful, identify those qualities and then target similar backgrounds of STEM students.”
- “One of the major problems in India when working in the public sector when the person belongs to the contractor company is communication. It becomes difficult to communicate at home and with friends. Often times, one’s life becomes completely isolated from his/her social life. That impact can be frustrating.”
- “Social network story-telling and hands-on tech and digital-friendly programs that appeal to the fast-paced generation and are dedicated to reversing the trend of negative public perception.”
- “Competition for talent around the globe is fierce, with excess supply in some regions and severe shortages in others. Leadership skills are particularly in demand and organizations are fighting to find and secure the best young employees who will become the leaders of the future. In such a competitive market, no company can afford to overlook any part of the talent pool – which means that diversity has become increasingly important.”
- “Oil and gas companies can focus on establishing relationships with the local communities that they operate in by sponsoring team sports, school events, fundraising efforts, education presentations, etc.”
11 Comments on "Millennials: What they Really Think of the Oil, Gas Industry"
joe on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 10:59 am
Reversing negative public perception? And that’s about peak oil because…..?
Hey millenials! You guys mean the whale oil industry right? Because that’s the one that will be left by 2050, that’s only 35 years from now. So at least they might repay their mortgages.
joe on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 11:00 am
That is, if they can ever get one!
James Tipper on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 11:02 am
It’s unfortunate to be on the back end(being 28) of the what I call the “unfortunate generation”. All of the stereotypes about millennials being deluded, naive, stupid, technology-addicted, and insanely short-sighted are unfortunately true. It our generation there is a strong cultural nihilism, for those of us who are smart enough to know what’s going on (peak oil and other catastrophes) it provides much needed solace.
Also it gets worse the younger you go. I mean I’m twenty-eight but if I try and talk to someone twenty-two I might as well be talking to someone who’s four. The ones that are stupid are incredibly stupid, it’s like trying to converse with someone with down syndrome, you shouldn’t talk fast or use to many big words. Everyone else is just completely miserable. All of those dreams of the stable job, white picket fence, wife, 2-3 kids, two cars, and a house in the suburbs, that’s never going to happen. And even if it does happen it’ll be taken away from you, maybe a divorce, maybe a job loss, but it’ll be taken from systematically. All you work for being taken away will is huge disincentive to care and produce.
And I mean why would I? Why should I care and produce so that these babyboomer fucks can have more retirement? Whatever. I’d say fuck it. I mean the babyboomers in my opinion raised us to be the most efficient slaves but got the opposite result. Instead of slaves we’re much more like livestock getting fattened up. If you’re young you need to realize that with peak oil there really is no future. It’s an amoral fact that there will never be another generation like the babyboomers. Because they destroyed the planet and raised us to destroy the planet. Every convenience we have in communication, transportation, food production, home energy use all have massive costs.
Don’t believe the hype younger ones, you’re not special, or an individual, that’s stuff they tell you because you’ll believe it. You’re not “free-thinking” and “rational”, that’s more self-congratulatory bullshit when the reality is that your views were picked for you. By one group or the other. All the choice in your life is the illusion of choice. You have no choice, you have no voice, you have no power, you have no money, you have no freedom. And what little money and freedom(maybe 2nd amendment? I mean they destroyed amendments 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10) you do have the old fucks are trying to rob from you. My only advice is this, “Good luck”.
rockman on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 12:13 pm
A shortage of skilled workers in the oil patch??? LMFAO. Tell that to the many tens of thousands of very skilled workers now unemployed. I get a number of emails weekly from hands with 20+ experienced hands looking for a job. RigZone is a good source for tech info. But editorials: they tend often to be a stinkinv pile of crap.
Makati1 on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 10:04 pm
James, at 70, I would not want to trade places with your 28, even for the good health and young body it would provide. You paint a very accurate picture of Western, and especially American young people and their future.
America’s biggest problem is that no bombs destroyed American cities in WW2 (Pearl Harbor doesn’t count. That was allowed to happen by DC to get the Americans into the Pacific War. The 9/11 of it’s day.), the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Iraq, etc. Reality does not exist in America, yet. But, it is coming fast.
Have you ever considered moving out of the US and building a life in another country? Millions do every year. But, you have to have a skill/education that is needed there, and some savings to keep you until you are hired. For instance, you could teach English here in the Ps or manage a call center.
My partner here, is an architect and has worked in Dubai, U.A.E. and Taiwan, with short stints in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and the US. No, you would probably not get rich, but you might just have a happier, healthier life, with a future.
BC on Sat, 5th Sep 2015 10:58 pm
James Tipper, I hear in your comments echoes of myself 25 years ago as a Joneser or Older Xer. I entered the full-time labor force during the early 1980s recession/depression.
You nailed it, young man, I’m sad to say.
Apneaman on Sun, 6th Sep 2015 1:46 am
James I hear you. I sometimes need to remind myself that the younger generations were born into an ever sicker and toxic culture and that lack of employment/opportunity is but one part of that story. I think it might be a testament to the naked ape spirit that any younger people have been able to hold on to even a small part of their sanity and decency at all.
Dr. Gabor Maté – Toxic Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erZhTPkOLb0
James Tipper on Sun, 6th Sep 2015 2:05 am
@Makati
Yes, I am also in good physical shape (which isn’t saying much compared to the average). Yes I’ve looked into moving to certain countries in Eastern Europe(namely Poland) and South America. Certain places in Asia do interest me too, I’d think more like South East Asian. I’ve been saving more and getting at least semi-prepared to leave. I have some savings and my online niche business is making money slowly but surely.
@BC
Yea I’d say the main difference is the degree to which technology has ruined young people. In the 1980’s you had a lot of it but it slow and inefficient. Now it’s actually too good, works too well, we become addicted. I mean I read these studies all the time where Americans, “Watch 5 hours of tv, 3 hours of social media, 4 hours of internet, 2 hours of cellphone”. I mean jesus you’d think with all of these distractions we’d sure be happy, not.
@Apneaman
I actually really love your posts, I don’t really express it, but yes I love your post. Also I’m a big fan of bioneers and have watched many clips in the past 3-4 years.
“I think it might be a testament to the naked ape spirit that any younger people have been able to hold on to even a small part of their sanity and decency at all.”
The insanity has become more like an ocean, and millennials are like fish. I mean to try and break from it is like being a fish out of water, to try and explain it to other people is useless, all they’ve known is the water. Our optimism is certainly non-existent and as we get sicker from what we eat, breathe, and drink it only adds to the negativity.
We need a clean break, that’s my opinion. But a clean break isn’t going to be so clean.
Boat on Sun, 6th Sep 2015 3:48 am
surveyed millennials, In fact, 42 percent of millennials believe problem-solving is the biggest asset they bring to the industry, third to only technical/digital knowledge (54 percent) and innovation (60 percent).
They will get better at problem solving after a few years only if they have some common sense. A degree won’t buy you that.
If you have studied six sigma and combine that with experience, the digital experience will be just one more tool.
Innovation, is just another way to work out a problem.
What new employees need to bring to a job is interest and enthusiasm. Spending most of your time trying to pry gems and tricks from experienced long term hands. Most innovation are small items that you can do a little cheaper or faster or making repeatable work more efficient. Not changing the wheel.
You see the word experience a lot in my comment. After that comes networking and building your case to get your change listened to. That is the hardest of all. To many ego’s and personalities are usually involved and most systems don’t like change. Good luck.
Davy on Sun, 6th Sep 2015 6:59 am
Yea, BC, I stepped out into the recession of the early 80’s. I was fully motivated to finding my own path away from the family business which at that time was a family war of control. I ended up in Europe and after a time working there I married a Spaniard. I was thinking with my other head and let her talk me into the family business. I wanted to live in a small village north of Madrid in a simple life. She had other plans and my other head let it happen.
I regret that decision in some ways because ideally I would have gone off into a simple life and lived close to nature as far from BAU as possible. I knew things then at 25. I don’t mind low pay if the location is right. A good wife and kids in the right location that is bliss in my book. I am with nature now but only after wasting 25 years in a high pay high stress career in a business whose goal was to pave over nature with development. A business with family abuse as part of the job description. Anyway sometime you old guys here get me to reminisce.
Millennials will pass through the gate of an epic transition. It will be a bottleneck of BAU and likely our species. Consumption and population will be rebalanced per natures place for hairless apes who have used up their bank account of finite resources and now our bankrupt. Hairless apes who shit their nest and left their manual on life behind for an oil joy ride.
Some of these millennials will transition to rewarding and vigorous lives of challenge and purpose. Many will unfortunately die early lives in pain and suffering. What can be more challenging than survival? Think of the passionate doomed love affairs of these young people. Think of the decisions that will be life or death. Happiness will be elusive with pain and suffering everywhere. Bottlenecks are about death and decay so there are no happy endings. Yet, the best of our spirituality comes out in the epic.
Kenz300 on Sun, 6th Sep 2015 8:35 am
Using less oil and moving away from fossil fuels is the answer…………
Millennials care about Climate Change and what it is doing to the planet………