Skillset for Trainee – How am I doing?

[Richard]

I have had a read through the FAQ and Newbie sections and understand there are literally 1000’s of people attending ROV courses who do not have the necessary technical background.
This is a great way of wasting up to 10000GBP.

I only want to take on this financial commitment if I think I may have a good shout of being successful in the industry.
I also understand that this training still only makes me a trainee and I would have to do XX many hours to become a Pilot.

I have looked over the IMCA guidelines and I feel my experience to date well satisfies the minimum requirement..

Relevant Qualification wise I have:

NFPC level 1 & 2 Mobile Hydraulics
BEng (Hons) Motorsport Engineering Design
HND Motorsport Engineering Design
GCSE Electronics

I like hands on work and am a jack of all trades really but so far I have been:

Raceteam Mechanic – Endurance Racing
Project Engineer in Rail Industry.
Hydraulic System Designer and Fault Finder
I currently design structures and linkages for the Marine Industry.
Automotive Fault Finding and Major System wiring (I can wire up a racecar).

Basically with the addition of my pilots course, MIST and BOSIET would I be trusted to mend/fly and ROV?

Thoughts?

[robin brooke]

mate, don’t waste your money. Get on the phone to SS7, Oceaneering, Technip, Fugro etc, If you are as good as you say and have the experience you say, you won’t need an ROV course.

One thing that always puzzles me, why do you want to get into ROV’s ? We are at the bottom of the food chain now, money wise. Day rates have stagnated, it’s not glamourous, conditions can be shite, crewchanges changed at a whim so your never sure when you get home to your soon to be ex wife, notice of 1 day to get to the other end of the country to join a ship where some old, bad tempered ex diver who somehow survived the last ice age is your boss, and he hasn’t the technical ability of finding his own arse with both hands (minus a few digits) but still wants to know the eternal question ‘how long before it’s fixed’

On the plus side… you have a lot of time off, and have a f**kin good laugh

[James McLauchlan]

Stagnant/crap rates and associated conditions aside ROV is an interesting way to get started in life, plus the current rates are likely better than many technically similar jobs onshore will pay.

@InToTheDepths Before you commit to a course I’d follow up on grabber’s advice and start making calls/sending your CV out. You have enough qualifications and experience to be of interest to any ROV company.

[Sit Rep]

IntoTheDepths,

I’d say you have a very good skill set for an offshore P/T (mech).

The electrical fundamentals you have are useful also but bear in mind it’s not only about cables it’s understanding what signals do what and the underlying logic of electronic systems. Please also bear in mind it’s 5Vdc to 2400Vac or higher.

You should be good at sorting at wiring looms though 😉

Having said all that it’s worth a shot.

[robin brooke]

IntoTheDepths,

I’d say you have a very good skill set for an offshore P/T (mech).

Strange, I would have thought more of a Hydraulic tech than a mech tech looking at his experience/qualifications. Good hyd techs are worth their weight in gold.

[aliboy]

Having an ROV course under your belt is here nor there in the eyes of the crew you would be working with, you are a Trainee that doesn’t know subsea operations, probably can’t fly, can’t launch & recover and has never seen a modern complex vehicle, so accept it.
You do seem to have a good background that would allow you to progress in the industry but do not think qualifications and past life elevate you beyond your lowly position.
Going back to your question in hand. There is a worrying trend lately of ROV managers employing individuals who hold an ROV attendence course as they can put them out as Pilot Techs as they have a few stamps in a blue book and not a Trainee. Clients do not pay for trainees! This ethos may then overtake the priority to employ the best technically able individuals. From experience I have come across lads who don’t know how to solder, use a Fluke, de-burr a piece of metal or correctly fit a new blade to a hacksaw! Simple tasks you may say but these people ARE gaining employment. Worrying times indeed! 🙄

[Richard]

I appreciate that I would only be looking at an entry level role and its given that I don’t

know subsea operations, probably can’t fly, can’t launch & recover and has never seen a modern complex vehicle

I do however amongst other things know how to solder, use a Fluke and Change a hacksaw blade! Worrying that some don’t!

@Jamesmc – I currently earn £25k at a desk and get 25 days holiday. I’d love a challenge. Change of scenery and more time off for my own bits. Do folk complain at the low pay rates because of the comparison to the much higher rates of a few years ago?

What other offshore roles could I look into?

I’ll get some CV’s off to the companies suggested and go for it 🙂

[James McLauchlan]

@Jamesmc – I currently earn £25k at a desk and get 25 days holiday. I’d love a challenge. Change of scenery and more time off for my own bits. Do folk complain at the low pay rates because of the comparison to the much higher rates of a few years ago?

In general terms look at doubling that within about 2 years. i.e. GBP 50k/annum with about 180 days off per year (yes, you read that right).
You may or may not pay tax on that depending on how many days you work and where you do those days.. but that is another subject entirely.

Yep! You picked up on the fact that people are complaining about UK ROV rates. These have been pretty stagnant for a few years. The rates compared with UK shore based jobs are good, but nowhere near as good as they should be when compared with other offshore occupations in the UK or Australia. For example a CSWIP 3.4u inspection co-ordinator gets more than an ROV supervisor these days and that’s on their first stint offshore as a 3.4u!

Look at what you feel comfortable with, but with your skills/experience you should do well enough on the ROV front and enjoy the job too. Start looking at too many other options and you’ll likely get confused as to which way to go.

[Richard]

What would my starting salary likely be?

[Ryan gay]

Depends who you work for more than likely between 30 to 35 thousand a year

[jago pearce]

For example a CSWIP 3.4u inspection co-ordinator gets more than an ROV supervisor these days and that’s on their first stint offshore as a 3.4u!

Ah the grass is always greener on the otherside.
Only thing is it’s surely got to be drudgery? I’ve a paperwork job and I’m looking at changing… but only if I can maintain freedom to live anywhere…

I’m noticing all the paper pushing jobs are higher paid.

Personally I don’t care that much for higher pay, but I do care for good conditions and that tends to come with higher pay.

It’s just a bummer that for a rewarding job you need to combine thinking and using ones hands and inspection I would guess is paperwork, right?

edit: Do you think you need mech experience to get into inspection or are they taking anyone on?

[Joe Nemeth]

hmm, courses… the rov world is getting flooded at the mo and they are churning out some right ones..

so it is worth it, well it got me my first rov job so yeah, but i did the mtcs one, which is a fraction if the fort william one, but i also have 20 yrs as a mech/hydraulic chap, so i do know the difference between jic and bps. oh yeah and can shoot fibres too…

gotta say that it can be shit sometimes, freezing ur nuts off in the middle of winter in the north sea fixing a poxy gf because the other shift didn’t cover a plug end and now its fizzed out… but on the flip side, when you get home i book a weeks hop and whip the misses off to somewhere warm..

i like it.. good luck with getting summit.. 😕

[Joe Nemeth]

hmm, courses… the rov world is getting flooded at the mo and they are churning out some right ones..

so it is worth it, well it got me my first rov job so yeah, but i did the mtcs one, which is a fraction if the fort william one, but i also have 20 yrs as a mech/hydraulic chap, so i do know the difference between jic and bps. oh yeah and can shoot fibres too…

gotta say that it can be shit sometimes, freezing ur nuts off in the middle of winter in the north sea fixing a poxy gf because the other shift didn’t cover a plug end and now its fizzed out… but on the flip side, when you get home i book a weeks hop and whip the misses off to somewhere warm..

i like it.. good luck with getting summit.. 😕

[Author]

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