Process Technicians at oil refineries in SG

[techreactor]

Just curious, know how much do Process Technicians/Operators make at the oil refineries in Singapore? Do they make a certain hourly rate or a set monthly rate? Do you know anyone that does this work? Do they enjoy their job? Do they make enough money to live comfortably? Do they work 12 hour rotating shifts?

I see job openings quite frequently but I would probably never apply for them. I am an Operator myself and I just enjoy learning about what my job is like in far away places (I live in Texas). It is also nice to find people with the same job and interests as me on the other side of the world.

[MrLailow]

A Process Technician earn about 3k/mth fresh here, there are other incentives, OTs, and bonuses to pump the figures. There are 8hr and 12hr rotating shifts here. It's a technology based job and there are tons of things to learn, most people do enjoy your jobs.

What is it like in Texas may I ask?

[techreactor]

I guess here in Texas we don't look at how much we make a month, but more like how much we make an hour/year. Most Operators in refineries around the USA will top out at 30+ dollars an hour. So without working any overtime I usually make around 80k USD a year. Last year I made 93k and I think I worked around 200 hours of OT. A lot of people made more than me because they chose to work more. Most of my coworkers made around 105-115k last year. Not bad at all.

The best thing I love about the pay system here is that I work 12 hours. 8 hours of each day I get paid straight time (32.07/hr) and the last 4 I get paid time and a half, so about 48.10/hr. If we don't volunteer for any overtime we only work 4 days one week and 3 days the next. The way the schedule works is that we get about 14 days off a month and 7 of those days off are in a row. Pretty awesome if you are like me and love to take trips and travel. I wonder if this is the same system used in Singapore or if it isn't, what does a typical schedule look like over there?

I wonder if Technicians rotate jobs on their unit as well? I work on one unit (HF Alky) but I rotate between different jobs within our unit. For example one week I'll be working the Acid end, next week I work the Offsites, and then the next week I will be on the board (DCS).

[MrLailow]

I believe we're on the same system. 12hr rotating shift of PM and AM mixed, weekdays and weekends cycled. Comes up to about 14-15 days of work each month. I guess the key difference is we're paid on a monthly basis, and OTs can be houred or entire shifts.

I'm totally fresh! And I don do rotation of duties, but the seniors are. 1 week or 1 month on the DCS, and another fieldwork or LAB.

The last time I heard, the average guy does about 40 on his starting year. More for the hungry chap.

Just curious, do you see yourself crossing the line to be an Engineer coming from a technical background?

[techreactor]

I have a two year Associates degree in Process Technology. I do not have a Bachelors degree in Engineering. I wish I did though. I am not sure if I would someday become an Engineer, but I would love to have the degree under my belt. My goal is to someday see the world and i feel like being an Engineer is the best way to do it. The problem now is it would be hard to schedule going back to school and doing shift work (but maybe it's possible). Right now I am trying to get as far up the ladder as I can with what I got.