Oil and gas vs Banking

[sgengineer]

Hi All,

I am currently working as an engineer at one of the oil and gas MNC. I had been with the company for 1.5 years upon graduation and my annual salary for 2011 was ~61k.

My company has a policy that new hires will have a fixed increment of ~12% per year for the first 2 years. On top of that all SG employees are given a fix bonus of 3 months regardless of company's performance. As such, I can quite accurately project my 2012 annual income to be ~68k.

Every year we have a force ranking and employees are classified into the top 33%, middle 33% or bottom 33%. This will in turn affect their subsequent year increment where the top 33% will get ~10-12% (estimate) increment, middle 33% ~5-6% increment, bottom 33% may be given very low increments.

Hence, if one is doing well in the company (consistency performing well in the top tier), he/she will be able to hit ~10k/month or ~150k/annum salary after 10 years of service. On the other hand, the average performer will be able to hit around 7k/month or ~100k/annum salary after 10 years of service.

On top of that my company position is to provide long time employment and they do not have any records of laying off employees during bad economies as compared to other oil and gas company which may pay better but had cases of retrenchment or pay cut during an economy down turn.

On the overall, what I gathered is the company I am working for provides a stable income for me to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. Moreover I typically do not need to work OT too often, maybe only about 3-4 days per month where I have to stay till 7+ pm in office.

However, I look around and see some bankers/traders who are able to make much more money and live luxuriously and that got me to consider if I want to jump over to the financial sector for that monetary reward. However I am one who value work life balance and I am worried I might regret jumping into the financial sector where the hours are always rumored to be very bad. Also, I am also considering the risk of not being able to perform in the financial sector or how the financial sector hire and fire base on the economy.

I would like to hear advices from all you fellows out there on what you will do if you are in my shoe? Be satisfied with a comfortable life, or take a risk and jump into another sector which is deemed lucrative to either make it, or break it.

Exxon is a good company. If I were you, I would stay there until retirement. Try to build up passive income in your spare time. There are many ideas mentioned in another thread somewhere in this forum.

If you can get into front office servicing oil/gas industry as
- corporate banker who arrange trade financing, structure loans, cash management
- m&a banker who do ipo, debt capital financing, arrange off-take, syndicate loans
- corp finance advisory who arranges structured financing, commodities hedging solutions
- energy trading - physical or derivatives
- equity research of oil gas industries
- buy side pte equity

it worth a try - mid 30s banker earn 400k in total comp on average, with exception of corp banker who should hit 200k - still better than hard core engineering

Other that that, dont bother

[sgengineer]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If you can get into front office servicing oil/gas industry as
- corporate banker who arrange trade financing, structure loans, cash management
- m&a banker who do ipo, debt capital financing, arrange off-take, syndicate loans
- corp finance advisory who arranges structured financing, commodities hedging solutions
- energy trading - physical or derivatives
- equity research of oil gas industries
- buy side pte equity

it worth a try - mid 30s banker earn 400k in total comp on average, with exception of corp banker who should hit 200k - still better than hard core engineering

Other that that, dont bother

Hmmm will u be able to share about the hours for such front office jobs?

Originally Posted by sgengineer

Hi All,

I am currently working as an engineer at one of the oil and gas MNC. I had been with the company for 1.5 years upon graduation and my annual salary for 2011 was ~61k.

My company has a policy that new hires will have a fixed increment of ~12% per year for the first 2 years. On top of that all SG employees are given a fix bonus of 3 months regardless of company's performance. As such, I can quite accurately project my 2012 annual income to be ~68k.

Every year we have a force ranking and employees are classified into the top 33%, middle 33% or bottom 33%. This will in turn affect their subsequent year increment where the top 33% will get ~10-12% (estimate) increment, middle 33% ~5-6% increment, bottom 33% may be given very low increments.

Hence, if one is doing well in the company (consistency performing well in the top tier), he/she will be able to hit ~10k/month or ~150k/annum salary after 10 years of service. On the other hand, the average performer will be able to hit around 7k/month or ~100k/annum salary after 10 years of service.

On top of that my company position is to provide long time employment and they do not have any records of laying off employees during bad economies as compared to other oil and gas company which may pay better but had cases of retrenchment or pay cut during an economy down turn.

On the overall, what I gathered is the company I am working for provides a stable income for me to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. Moreover I typically do not need to work OT too often, maybe only about 3-4 days per month where I have to stay till 7+ pm in office.

However, I look around and see some bankers/traders who are able to make much more money and live luxuriously and that got me to consider if I want to jump over to the financial sector for that monetary reward. However I am one who value work life balance and I am worried I might regret jumping into the financial sector where the hours are always rumored to be very bad. Also, I am also considering the risk of not being able to perform in the financial sector or how the financial sector hire and fire base on the economy.

I would like to hear advices from all you fellows out there on what you will do if you are in my shoe? Be satisfied with a comfortable life, or take a risk and jump into another sector which is deemed lucrative to either make it, or break it.

If you need to ask then you shouldn't be thinking of moving. It seems you have neither the passion, interest nor the faintest clue of what the banking / finance industry is about other than hearsay of great riches.

Also as an additional note, your description of your company's progression is only partially correct. While the 6% / 12% increment depending on performance ranking might apply in the initial phase, all companies will eventually start capping or reducing such increments once you approach the high end of their prescribed ranges.

There will come a time where your promotions fail to keep pace with your increments and you will find your salary progression slowing down due to salary caps. Otherwise an above average performer that gets averagely 9% p.a. will end up drawing 100k monthly by the time he retire.

Originally Posted by sgengineer

Hi All,

I am currently working as an engineer at one of the oil and gas MNC. I had been with the company for 1.5 years upon graduation and my annual salary for 2011 was ~61k.

My company has a policy that new hires will have a fixed increment of ~12% per year for the first 2 years. On top of that all SG employees are given a fix bonus of 3 months regardless of company's performance. As such, I can quite accurately project my 2012 annual income to be ~68k.

Every year we have a force ranking and employees are classified into the top 33%, middle 33% or bottom 33%. This will in turn affect their subsequent year increment where the top 33% will get ~10-12% (estimate) increment, middle 33% ~5-6% increment, bottom 33% may be given very low increments.

Hence, if one is doing well in the company (consistency performing well in the top tier), he/she will be able to hit ~10k/month or ~150k/annum salary after 10 years of service. On the other hand, the average performer will be able to hit around 7k/month or ~100k/annum salary after 10 years of service.

On top of that my company position is to provide long time employment and they do not have any records of laying off employees during bad economies as compared to other oil and gas company which may pay better but had cases of retrenchment or pay cut during an economy down turn.

On the overall, what I gathered is the company I am working for provides a stable income for me to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. Moreover I typically do not need to work OT too often, maybe only about 3-4 days per month where I have to stay till 7+ pm in office.

However, I look around and see some bankers/traders who are able to make much more money and live luxuriously and that got me to consider if I want to jump over to the financial sector for that monetary reward. However I am one who value work life balance and I am worried I might regret jumping into the financial sector where the hours are always rumored to be very bad. Also, I am also considering the risk of not being able to perform in the financial sector or how the financial sector hire and fire base on the economy.

I would like to hear advices from all you fellows out there on what you will do if you are in my shoe? Be satisfied with a comfortable life, or take a risk and jump into another sector which is deemed lucrative to either make it, or break it.

u what kind of engineer? if deal with petrolchemicals, can move up to become oil trader n huat big big. or become oil broker.

if u r rig engineer or those mechanical type of engineer, i cannot help u le.

Dear Sgengineer,

May we know what kind of job position you are looking at in the financial sector?

Financial sector is quite big. Selling financial plans, credit cards, are also part of that sector.

[sgengineer]

Originally Posted by QXP

If you need to ask then you shouldn't be thinking of moving. It seems you have neither the passion, interest nor the faintest clue of what the banking / finance industry is about other than hearsay of great riches.

Also as an additional note, your description of your company's progression is only partially correct. While the 6% / 12% increment depending on performance ranking might apply in the initial phase, all companies will eventually start capping or reducing such increments once you approach the high end of their prescribed ranges.

There will come a time where your promotions fail to keep pace with your increments and you will find your salary progression slowing down due to salary caps. Otherwise an above average performer that gets averagely 9% p.a. will end up drawing 100k monthly by the time he retire.

Thanks for sharing. It is indeed true that I do not have much idea about the financial sector and thats why I chose to create this thread to hear more about what others with more exposure have to say.

Again, I agree with the capping of the increments but for the first 10 years of career i'm quite sure this increment is more or less around what i described. Our ranking system are structured such that as a new bird we are rank at a site level. With promotions, the supervisors and managers are ranked in the national level. Executives and up will be ranked at the regional/global level. So it is really not easy for someone to be ranked in the top for 30 years consecutively.. and of cos, at such a level.. maybe the increment doesn't seem that important anymore..

I'm being more down to earth by targeting the 100k/annum after 10 years.. and wonder if its easier to meet this pay check in the financial sector within a shorter time, and over a longer or equivalent span..

[sgengineer]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

u what kind of engineer? if deal with petrolchemicals, can move up to become oil trader n huat big big. or become oil broker.

if u r rig engineer or those mechanical type of engineer, i cannot help u le.

I am a process engineer. My company don't speculate in oil trading.. our traders function more as a supply ops division.. so if wanna huat big big as oil trader i'll probably need to jump ship as well..

[sgengineer]

Originally Posted by arigatoast

Dear Sgengineer,

May we know what kind of job position you are looking at in the financial sector?

Financial sector is quite big. Selling financial plans, credit cards, are also part of that sector.

I don't mean selling financial plans/credit cards but more of like front office jobs.. but from what i see it seems like its not easy to jump into front office role from a non financial background..

Also, i am wondering if the Management Associates program at the banks are good compared to the oil and gas industry...