[Oil & Gas] Project Engineer to PM Salary

[alif]

Hi All,

Question: How much should I ask for, in a PM role in Oil & Gas?
1) What is market rate for 2nd Tier O&G Company like Chevron or Total for PM?
2) What is market rate for ABB or Siemens as PM?
3) Should I try to jump into Keppel Shipyard or Keppel Fels as a APM/PM?
4) Any kind of other advice you may have based on background info below for my career path?

Some Background info:

I've been working as a Senior Project Engineer for the past few years at an O&G SME, though pretty much doing a PM's job (client facing, scheduling, budgeting, training for Junior PE, project monitoring for them, report directly to top management/MD etc). I have under my portfolio anywhere from USD2mil to USD20mil+ O&G projects, successfully delivered and commissioned in my time with the company.

This was my first job as PE in O&G after returning to Singapore. Previously I was a PE in a Pharmaceutical company in the UK for a couple of years before Post Study Work Visa expires.

My current pay is in the less than $3.5k. Performance Bonus for the past few years have been 1 month (company wide, which makes the word performance redundant). There is no AWS policy within the company. I know I am grossly underpaid, and the company is hiring new PEs with similar or less experience than I do for starting salary of 4k to 4.5k, most with much smaller portfolio and in a non-multidisciplined environment like I'm currently in. I know I sound a bit bitter, and I freely admit I am and what I conceive as lack of recognition or proper performance reward.

Right now I am looking into jumping ship. I have a few former colleagues who jumped ship and became Senior PE, Assistant PM or PM in other SME O&G, earning from 4.5k to 6k upwards. I've been looking at Tier 2 O&G MNCs like Total and Chevron for a APM or PM job, but am also considering Companies like ABB or Siemens.

I'm quite interested in one of the current postings in Siemens and applying for all the open PM roles right now, but I'm really unsure what kind of remuneration I should be asking for.

Honestly I'm a bit jaded with doing both a PE job of executing and PM job of planning and client management, and much rather just focus on being a full time PM.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Originally Posted by alif

Hi All,

Question: How much should I ask for, in a PM role in Oil & Gas?
1) What is market rate for 2nd Tier O&G Company like Chevron or Total for PM?
2) What is market rate for ABB or Siemens as PM?
3) Should I try to jump into Keppel Shipyard or Keppel Fels as a APM/PM?
4) Any kind of other advice you may have based on background info below for my career path?

Some Background info:

I've been working as a Senior Project Engineer for the past few years at an O&G SME, though pretty much doing a PM's job (client facing, scheduling, budgeting, training for Junior PE, project monitoring for them, report directly to top management/MD etc). I have under my portfolio anywhere from USD2mil to USD20mil+ O&G projects, successfully delivered and commissioned in my time with the company.

This was my first job as PE in O&G after returning to Singapore. Previously I was a PE in a Pharmaceutical company in the UK for a couple of years before Post Study Work Visa expires.

My current pay is in the less than $3.5k. Performance Bonus for the past few years have been 1 month (company wide, which makes the word performance redundant). There is no AWS policy within the company. I know I am grossly underpaid, and the company is hiring new PEs with similar or less experience than I do for starting salary of 4k to 4.5k, most with much smaller portfolio and in a non-multidisciplined environment like I'm currently in. I know I sound a bit bitter, and I freely admit I am and what I conceive as lack of recognition or proper performance reward.

Right now I am looking into jumping ship. I have a few former colleagues who jumped ship and became Senior PE, Assistant PM or PM in other SME O&G, earning from 4.5k to 6k upwards. I've been looking at Tier 2 O&G MNCs like Total and Chevron for a APM or PM job, but am also considering Companies like ABB or Siemens.

I'm quite interested in one of the current postings in Siemens and applying for all the open PM roles right now, but I'm really unsure what kind of remuneration I should be asking for.

Honestly I'm a bit jaded with doing both a PE job of executing and PM job of planning and client management, and much rather just focus on being a full time PM.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Most oil & gas majors i.e. (Exxon, Shell, Chevron, Total, BP & Conoco) have pretty conservative job titles. A “Project Manager” at the upstream space over there will probably earn 3-4 times of your current salary, not to mention much bigger bonus also. If you want to join them, a PM job is way too high level for you - something along the lines of Associate Engineer, Operations Executive / Analyst, Project Technician / Coordinator is more at your level. But the timing is not good for you as the falling oil prices have caused a lot of people from the smaller MNC (Tier 3 or 4 using your definition) to rush to apply jobs in the oil majors. For someone with a SME background unless you have special skills TBH not much hope.

Also take note that project management at a global MNC level is completely different league compared to a SME, you will hardly find projects <US$200million. It is unlikely even the smaller O&G MNCs will hire you just to do just PM work, so my advice for you is to eat humble pie and start from scratch and learn from basics if you want to move out of the SME space. Besides considering smaller O&G MNCs, you can also go for other related industries such as Chemicals, High Tech Manufacturing, Engineering consultancies etc. These are easier to get in and pay & prospect also not bad.

As for Keppel & Sembcorp, they are considered offshore construction rather then oil & gas. It is possible for your experience to give it a go with them. But from what I understand of them, they believe in paying very low basic and high bonus instead, so they might not match your basic salary since they give good bonuses.

It is not realistic for a 3.5k junior engineer doing small time projects in a SME to expect project management authority straight away in a mega mnc... consider lucky if they even hire you as a fresh grad engineer.