Big Oil Makes Push in On-Campus Recruiting

[phantom power]

Hmmm. They need lots of new geologists. It's almost as if they are expending more manpower to find new oil...

"Big Oil" has been doing some big recruiting on U.S. campuses this year -- as have many smaller companies in the petroleum and natural gas business. The combination of high prices, an aging work force and a tight pipeline of trained workers has the industry desperate for talent. Phan accepted a $55,000-per-year offer in Houston at Schlumberger Ltd., an oilfield services firm.

(...)

Prominent geoscience programs, including those at Texas, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Colorado School of Mines, are reporting more companies interviewing on campus. William Fisher, dean of UT's Jackson School of Geosciences, saw something this year he'd never seen before: a student got a signing bonus -- for a summer internship.

"My guess is the demand for geoscientists is roughly twice the supply," Fisher says.

Adds Maria Zuber, department chair of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences at MIT: "I have high-level people oil companies who are in my office frequently saying, 'send me more students.' We can't keep up with the demand of what the oil companies need."

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8GTVVQ02.html

[hatrack]

1. Ever hear the phrase "Eating The Seed Corn"?

This is what happens after 25 years of slashed investment, mergers, downsizing and cutbacks - oil companies suddenly discover that, gosh, it's really hard to grow skilled petroleum geologists overnight.

:eyes:

[phantom power]

3. It will all turn out fine, if they just hire enough people.

[Coastie for Truth]

2. (SCHADENFREUDE) If the oil companies, and the oil field service companies

hadn't been such Saudi boot lickers and Saudi butt lickers since the end of WW 2 (see ) they wouldn't have gotten themselves into this predicament.

GLOAT GLOAT GLOAT
SCHADENFREUDE