How many of you like me have been sat on the beach for a while now?..Ive been in the ROV industry for 12 years now and had a really busy year in 2009,but have been sat at home here in sunny oz now for a couple of months,with not a whisper of any work on the horizon…Im not skint so not too worried..Have turned down a couple of jobs with the agencies offering too low Pesos…Some companies were saying it was going to be very quiet this year…what do you guys think is it going to pick up,or should I look for a change in career? Cheers
Extended time on the beach?
In the UK (at least) people should not expect to work after October and before March/April. For many years that was the generally accepted ‘season’ on the Diving and ROV front. On an annual basis the season would fluctuate depending on how buoyant the offshore industry was at the time. There may be similar seasonal periods in say the GOM or Oz?
For some reason these days people seem to think they have a god given right to work all year round in this game and seem somewhat surprised when they have been on the beach for a while. That is probably why we are seeing people looking a little surprised that they have not worked for a few months…
It goes a bit like this:
February: Oops! I’m running out of money.
March: The bank calls about your mortgage arrears
Mid March: The finance company calls about your late car payment.
Desperation starts to set in
Late March: A company calls offering you a job for £50.00/day less than you were on last year. Out of desperation you take it.
April/May – One of the busiest years we’ve known for a while kicks in and you start wondering why you are on such a shit rates compared to the guy next to you who just joined the vessel.
Result! – You have successfully played into the hands of the employers