How difficult would it be to return to the oil / geophysics industry after working as a software developer? [closed]

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After graduation with an MSc in applied geophysics and seismic interpretation, I was unemployed for well over a year. My graduation was only a few months before the oil marked crashed. I see this as one of the reasons, but also the fact that the business is generally hard to enter with no real work-experience.

Then through sell-gained skills and a lot of sour effort I finally managed to land a job as a software developer at a very large and reputable company.
As much as I like this job, and what appears to be a very steady career path, I often wonder if it will be possible to re-enter the oil/geophysics/resource industry - as this is still where my passion and university education lies.

The two main things that I imagine will play the big roles here are:

1. All the software skills I learn .NET + a lot of other computing stuff, will it be as useful as I hope if I try to jump back?




2. Oil has big problems and that probably will not change anytime soon. Obviously there are many other things to mine in the underground and so on, but the market is generally lacking and I don't know what to make of it -> Since it is of course very complicated.

I guess what I am looking for is some sort of insight, from some good minds and people on the other side, with experience with these businesses.

job-change

share|improve this question

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

closed as off-topic by Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33 Jun 16 '16 at 1:31

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions asking for advice on what to do are not practical answerable questions (e.g. "what job should I take?", or "what skills should I learn?"). Questions should get answers explaining why and how to make a decision, not advice on what to do. For more information, click here." – Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
  – JasonJ
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:10
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
  – Richard U
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:29
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
  – paparazzo
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:13
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
  – David Hammen
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
  – hownowbrowncow
  Jun 15 '16 at 19:19
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

After graduation with an MSc in applied geophysics and seismic interpretation, I was unemployed for well over a year. My graduation was only a few months before the oil marked crashed. I see this as one of the reasons, but also the fact that the business is generally hard to enter with no real work-experience.

Then through sell-gained skills and a lot of sour effort I finally managed to land a job as a software developer at a very large and reputable company.
As much as I like this job, and what appears to be a very steady career path, I often wonder if it will be possible to re-enter the oil/geophysics/resource industry - as this is still where my passion and university education lies.

The two main things that I imagine will play the big roles here are:

1. All the software skills I learn .NET + a lot of other computing stuff, will it be as useful as I hope if I try to jump back?




2. Oil has big problems and that probably will not change anytime soon. Obviously there are many other things to mine in the underground and so on, but the market is generally lacking and I don't know what to make of it -> Since it is of course very complicated.

I guess what I am looking for is some sort of insight, from some good minds and people on the other side, with experience with these businesses.

job-change

share|improve this question

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

closed as off-topic by Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33 Jun 16 '16 at 1:31

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions asking for advice on what to do are not practical answerable questions (e.g. "what job should I take?", or "what skills should I learn?"). Questions should get answers explaining why and how to make a decision, not advice on what to do. For more information, click here." – Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
  – JasonJ
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:10
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
  – Richard U
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:29
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
  – paparazzo
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:13
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
  – David Hammen
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
  – hownowbrowncow
  Jun 15 '16 at 19:19
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

After graduation with an MSc in applied geophysics and seismic interpretation, I was unemployed for well over a year. My graduation was only a few months before the oil marked crashed. I see this as one of the reasons, but also the fact that the business is generally hard to enter with no real work-experience.

Then through sell-gained skills and a lot of sour effort I finally managed to land a job as a software developer at a very large and reputable company.
As much as I like this job, and what appears to be a very steady career path, I often wonder if it will be possible to re-enter the oil/geophysics/resource industry - as this is still where my passion and university education lies.

The two main things that I imagine will play the big roles here are:

1. All the software skills I learn .NET + a lot of other computing stuff, will it be as useful as I hope if I try to jump back?




2. Oil has big problems and that probably will not change anytime soon. Obviously there are many other things to mine in the underground and so on, but the market is generally lacking and I don't know what to make of it -> Since it is of course very complicated.

I guess what I am looking for is some sort of insight, from some good minds and people on the other side, with experience with these businesses.

job-change

share|improve this question

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

After graduation with an MSc in applied geophysics and seismic interpretation, I was unemployed for well over a year. My graduation was only a few months before the oil marked crashed. I see this as one of the reasons, but also the fact that the business is generally hard to enter with no real work-experience.

Then through sell-gained skills and a lot of sour effort I finally managed to land a job as a software developer at a very large and reputable company.
As much as I like this job, and what appears to be a very steady career path, I often wonder if it will be possible to re-enter the oil/geophysics/resource industry - as this is still where my passion and university education lies.

The two main things that I imagine will play the big roles here are:

1. All the software skills I learn .NET + a lot of other computing stuff, will it be as useful as I hope if I try to jump back?




2. Oil has big problems and that probably will not change anytime soon. Obviously there are many other things to mine in the underground and so on, but the market is generally lacking and I don't know what to make of it -> Since it is of course very complicated.

I guess what I am looking for is some sort of insight, from some good minds and people on the other side, with experience with these businesses.

job-change

share|improve this question

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

edited Jun 16 '16 at 6:13

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

asked Jun 15 '16 at 14:51

ToFo

1364

1364

closed as off-topic by Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33 Jun 16 '16 at 1:31

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions asking for advice on what to do are not practical answerable questions (e.g. "what job should I take?", or "what skills should I learn?"). Questions should get answers explaining why and how to make a decision, not advice on what to do. For more information, click here." – Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

closed as off-topic by Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33 Jun 16 '16 at 1:31

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

• "Questions asking for advice on what to do are not practical answerable questions (e.g. "what job should I take?", or "what skills should I learn?"). Questions should get answers explaining why and how to make a decision, not advice on what to do. For more information, click here." – Myles, mhoran_psprep, Chris E, paparazzo, Dawny33

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
  – JasonJ
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:10
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
  – Richard U
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:29
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
  – paparazzo
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:13
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
  – David Hammen
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
  – hownowbrowncow
  Jun 15 '16 at 19:19
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
  – JasonJ
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:10
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
  – Richard U
  Jun 15 '16 at 15:29
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
  – paparazzo
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:13
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
  – David Hammen
  Jun 15 '16 at 16:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
  – hownowbrowncow
  Jun 15 '16 at 19:19
  

  
  
  
  

It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
– JasonJ
Jun 15 '16 at 15:10

It sounds like you are in need of industry specific information. While we can talk about general workplace for days you may be better off searching for a industry forum to get more useful information.
– JasonJ
Jun 15 '16 at 15:10

If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
– Richard U
Jun 15 '16 at 15:29

If you still have connections in the industry, it won't be too hard, but as has been said, this is really not the forum for you to get a meaningful answer for industry specific questions
– Richard U
Jun 15 '16 at 15:29

1

1

In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
– paparazzo
Jun 15 '16 at 16:13

In summary you want to move from an up industry to a down industry
– paparazzo
Jun 15 '16 at 16:13

There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
– David Hammen
Jun 15 '16 at 16:47

There are lots & lots of places in the petrochemical industry where programming skills are needed. Massive amounts of data are collected, stored, and later retrieved in upstream, midstream, and downstream. The tools used are not quite from the previous millennium, but they're close.You're asking about upstream, but do not limit yourself to that if you want to get back into petrochemical. Oil will not be $50/bbl forever. Play the contrarian! When an industry is down might well be a good time to get into that industry.
– David Hammen
Jun 15 '16 at 16:47

1

1

try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
– hownowbrowncow
Jun 15 '16 at 19:19

try to join an oil/gas based software company! Or even a startup!
– hownowbrowncow
Jun 15 '16 at 19:19

 | 
show 2 more comments

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