It’s a New Year and a new decade. The time is ripe for those new year resolutions and self-reflection on what you want to achieve this year professionally.
Unfortunately, this past holiday season has been dampened with a plethora of announcements from both technical professionals and news outlets that layoffs are happening with more to come this year. It’s no secret that O&G upstream operators are laser focused on increasing productivity while reducing operational cost.
As a recruiter in the O&G market, I do want to share that hiring managers at E&P companies are always open to seeking out “petrotechs” who are not only experts within their designated discipline but also well versed in programming and data science. These petroleum engineers/geologists are in high demand and are often times seen as “irreplaceable” within their own organizations.
There is no time like the present…..this new year may be the perfect time for you to “upskill” in programming, machine learning and data visualization software. Where do I start you may ask?
You have several options that you could pursue in attaining this highly desirable skill set. Of course, there is the academic route where you can enroll in an online master’s degree program (2 yr) in data science or perhaps an intensive coding/data analytics (12-24 weeks) bootcamp that is affiliated with a university while staying in the workforce. Look into employer sponsorship as a possible way to fund your continued learning.
Another avenue you could pursue is the self-starter approach of mastering coding/data science and my opinion the more economical route. I’ve had several conversations with technical professionals with no background in computer programming learn how to code in Python and other languages simply by taking free online courses (Ex. Coursera, Udemy, Codeacademy, MIT Open Courseware etc.) during their evenings or weekends.
It can be difficult for us to venture outside of our comfort zones and to carve out time out of our busy schedules to pick up a new skill but the value gained is undeniable. What do you have to lose?
Have fun this year learning a new skill set that will further your career or help you land your next job. Good luck to you and make 2020 be the best year yet!
Until next time, stay committed
Adriana Arias
Photo credit: Namtech Company (https://namtech.com.au/programming-language-future-trend/)
