This is one of the reasons why oil rig workers are given a salary that is way above office workers. Due to the simple fact that they are not able to go home at will, they miss the chance to be with their families constantly. While on duty, they are also sometimes required to put in more than eight hours a day unlike regular officers workers. How does $25 dollars an hour sound? That salary is only for entry level workers like roughnecks. The rig operates non-stop even on holidays. Can you imagine the take home pay these guys get? As the worker gets promoted, the salary gets even higher. However, the high pay does have a corresponding risk involved with the risk about as high as the pay.
Oil rig work deals with different types of weather conditions. Being at sea does not keep the rig safe from storms. If the site is in a tropical part of the globe, it is not always sunny and working in a rig makes it even more humid for the workers on the platform. On the other hand, a worker may be assigned to parts of the globe where the weather is freezing because some offshore jobs are located there. They face a different type of risk from that region. That is also one reason why oil rigs also have a high demand for doctors and medical personnel. There is a constant threat of accidents and injuries in this kind of work no matter how many safety precautions are undertaken.
Other than doctors and rig hands, employees need to eat so there is always an opening for caterers and galley personnel. Since work is done at all hours, there is always someone who will want a hot meal or get something to drink or eat. Some rigs have recreation rooms where off duty rig workers can relax and ease their boredom until their shift comes. The workers don’t even have to do their own laundry. They have people who can do that who don’t work with drilling or exploration.
Until people around the globe find no more use for oil, oil rig jobs and other similar occupations will continue to be in great demand. There are few takers because of the high risk involved. But for the risk that these workers take, excellent compensation in the form of high salaries is given. They also have more vacation time than work time since oil rig workers usually have a 14/21 rotation. This means that they are only required to work for 14 days while the rest is time off. Who wouldn’t want to be hired for offshore jobs?