Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 7: Dead in the Water
Authors: Blasingame Tom 
Published: May 2021

Prosperity tries the fortunate, adversity the great. - Rose Kennedy, American author, 1890-1995 (Mother of US President John F. Kennedy)

If There’s No Wind, Then Row, Swim, or Build an Engine

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. - George Washington, American president, 1732-1799

Warning to readers: Direct guidance ahead.

In the past month, I have spoken formally to more than 10 groups as SPE President, and probably another five groups informally, as just Tom. In each instance, the current situation for students seeking employment is, well, dead in the water. This is typically a tough time of year as companies make their commitments in the September-November time frame and tend to reengage in the March-May time frame for positions that were not filled or perhaps for new positions that were recently created. Typically is the operative word here. Late 2020 and early 2021 are anything but typical, and students seeking internships and permanent employment are being challenged like no other time in the history of our industry.

So what does one do? I have broken this down as follows:

Row. “Rowing” is a metaphor for knowing what works and enduring the monotonous and back-breaking effort to create and maintain momentum in the job-seeking process; make getting a job your job. Leave no stone unturned and go to where the jobs are. Don’t wait for the jobs to come to you. I am sure that some reading this will say, “This is the old lecture about exercise making you stronger.” While that is true, it is also about the raw discipline of knowing what must be done and doing it. Rowing is slow and tedious. But rowing works.

Swim. “Swimming” is a metaphor for survival. If all else fails, take whatever job you can find: pumper, roughneck, roustabout, pipeline engineer, water resources engineer, environmental engineer, etc. Being willing and able to take a job no one else will take sets you apart. It creates an innate sense of survival and gives a person the discipline to succeed no matter the challenge. Many successful petroleum engineers started in something else, while many people who wanted to be petroleum engineers found success in fields they would never have considered such as municipal utilities, food service, and even the medical field. Success is survival; in the end, all of us can learn to swim.

Build an Engine. This is where YOU build the engine to power YOUR vision. For some, this could be more education or an alternate career pathway (e.g., teaching or governmental service/employment). For others, driven by their vision of a technical or process “gap,” they might create a software firm or other service firm. Although extremely risky for those with little or no experience, students/recent graduates and young professionals (YPs) can also create their own oil and gas firms. In fact, I have had former students do all of these. Building your own engine is extremely difficult, and it absolutely must be driven by a passion for innovating and creating. One must also be acutely aware of the risks. In simple terms, this is an extreme risk/reward scenario, but those who have a vision can and will succeed.