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It\u2019s a New Year and a\nnew decade. The time is ripe for those new year resolutions and self-reflection\non what you want to achieve this year professionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, this\npast holiday season has been dampened with a plethora of announcements from\nboth technical professionals and news outlets that layoffs are happening with\nmore to come this year. It\u2019s no secret that O&G upstream operators are\nlaser focused on increasing productivity while reducing operational cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a recruiter in the\nO&G market, I do want to share that hiring managers at E&P companies\nare always open to seeking out \u201cpetrotechs\u201d who are not only experts within\ntheir designated discipline but also well versed in programming and data science.\nThese petroleum engineers\/geologists are in high demand and are often times seen\nas \u201cirreplaceable\u201d within their own organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no time like\nthe present\u2026..this new year may be the perfect time for you to \u201cupskill\u201d in programming,\nmachine learning and data visualization software. Where do I start you may ask?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You have several\noptions that you could pursue in attaining this highly desirable skill set. Of\ncourse, there is the academic route where you can enroll in an online master\u2019s\ndegree program (2 yr) in data science or perhaps an intensive coding\/data\nanalytics (12-24 weeks) bootcamp that is affiliated with a university while staying\nin the workforce. Look into employer sponsorship as a possible way to fund your\ncontinued learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another avenue you\ncould pursue is the self-starter approach of mastering coding\/data science and\nmy opinion the more economical route. I\u2019ve had several conversations with\ntechnical professionals with no background in computer programming learn how to\ncode in Python and other languages simply by taking free online courses (Ex.\nCoursera, Udemy, Codeacademy, MIT Open Courseware etc.) during their evenings\nor weekends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be difficult for\nus to venture outside of our comfort zones and to carve out time out of our\nbusy schedules to pick up a new skill but the value gained is undeniable. What\ndo you have to lose? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have fun this year learning\na new skill set that will further your career or help you land your next job. Good\nluck to you and make 2020 be the best year yet! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until next time, stay\ncommitted<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adriana Arias<\/p>\n\n\n\n