Been creeping on this website for a little bit now. Engineer at shell and I make about 110k base and I'm in my mid 20s been here almost 3 years. I'm leaving to join a major chemical company (50k plus employees). I was able to keep my salary at 110k but I have a better bonus, and better 401k with a company that is much more stable than Shell. Here are my thoughts...this industry is DEAD. I mean seriously think about it, more than half of a barrel of oil goes into gasoline in 2019 EVs were like 1 percent of all new car sales in America now they are like 5% of car sales. In Europe this number is already well into the double digits . Also people say stuff like "oh we will always have petrochemicals to help with demand of oil" this is a horrible way of thinking..."Marlex Anew" look it up, other chemical companies will follow suit. If you're below 45 you are playing a risky game staying in this industry. I think it realistically only has 15-20 years before things get really bad. One good thing if you are still young, shell looks rlly good on your resume especially if you are under 30. I was able to get interviews, offers very easily. Anyways just good luck to any who want to stay. I honestly think oil industry is done, and I'm one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet.
22 replies (most recent on top)
Post from TheLayoff.com
You’re such a tough guy aren’t you? Calling kids in their 20s names on the Internet?
These are your coworkers ladies and gentlemen!
You are in your twenties and took a position sideways, really? Id--t, please listen and learn. Demand 20% increase and jump ship. Not 0% and god forbid you take a pay cut. You have a job and you can't get a better offer??? WTF???
Funny
🥱 you are still an indentured servant, good luck and bye-bye 👋🏼
I'm tired of sucking Shell p-e p-e. Time to latch on to bigger p-e p-e
I was embarrassed by that guy, what he said, and how ridiculous he made Shell look. Bunch of stupid isolated examples. Asking to touch someone's hair, really? And oreo is a black on black slur.
Not the face of rational wokeness. Kind of whiny.
Uppity, gotta say yeah. Like the guy ranting that Shell is full of racists because someone thought he was a cafeteria worker. What's wrong with being a cafeteria worker? Hard working people doing honest work! You better than them? Take that chip off your shoulder dude. Lot of that attitude here
80 point". What does this mean? Is it tracked in Workdays?
Each year of service earns you points. You are entitled for a full pension once you reach 80 points.
50yo id genx
Quick poll. How many of you would say US management are "uppity"?
80 point is the pre-2013 or so defined pension plan. Valuable benefit if you’ve been around for a while.
USW 4 LIFE
$110K for an engineer at Shell with 3 years experience seems a little low to me. Two thoughts. First, if you're a young engineer, get the bullets and experience on your resume and gtfo. That's not bad advice. Engineer in her 50s, here. Let the adults run this business. That said, second, oil and gas will be around for several more decades. Looking at current trends on the EV market in America and Europe is an obtuse pov that, if anything, demonstrates privilege and youthful ignorance. EVs are still very, very expensive for most of the developed world and will continue to be. They will continue to compete against ever-decreasing ICE fuel costs, and there is no current viable emerging catalyst for decreased manufacturing costs or cheaper raw materials. Also, consider where EVs will be manufactured. There will be some spotlight on "enlightened" domestic production, but make no mistake: the bulk of EVs and their parts will be produced in countries that are still built on petroeconomics. That alone will keep the industry floating, like I said, for probably several more decades. The global energy "transition" will be slower than most think. Good luck. Employees like me will be fine, but Shell Oil will be a poor company for grad engineers to start their careers imo.
"80 point". What does this mean? Is it tracked in Workday?
I totally agree with the OP about Shell and the oil industry in general. I’ve been working here longer than most of you have been alive and I will say this company is just a “Shell” of what it once was (excuse the pun.) It’s truly sad to see how the lackeys are running this company into the ground and have bowed to the “woke” movement. I wish I had taken the last offering in March. Hope there’s another SVS next year. I’ve warned my younger coworkers that they need to focus on developing a new skill set before it too late. This clock is ticking for a lot of good people.
I'm in a similar boat, but in my late 20s. I'm fairly close to my FIRE (financial independence, retire early) goal, so my current plan is to just stick around and ride it out as long as possible.
However, I do have an in demand skillset in tech, so if our upcoming raises/bonuses aren't good then I'll probably jump ship.
If you’re 24 and have real opportunities in big tech, you should go. Some benefits might not be as good, but you don’t have the 401k/80 point golden handcuffs anyways. Your midcareer earnings potential in tech will be much higher in tech than with Shell. $110k is probably a low salary at the larger firms these days.
Shell is done with oil and gas (and soon as a company).... the oil and gas business will be around for many years to come unless governments start to focus on real and reliable energy sources such as nuclear. Solar or wind are not the solution.
I’m actively looking to the external opportunity as well. Same as OP, I’m in my 20s, and it’s been really frustrating being in this company the last 2 years. With the energy transition and the constant laid off that are ongoing, I see no future being here. On top of that, having a bad team lead certainly doesn’t help
A lot of the conversation go black and white with the energy transition subject but its really grey.
Agree with OP 100%. Here is why: Remember 2014-2016 oil price crash? The oversupply was only ~5MPBD. April crash of 2020, demand drop was only ~15MBPD. It is very reasonable/probable to think that electrification and renewables adoption causes 5+MBPD demand disruption this decade. Will oil industry be around? Sure. But if you are in your 20's/30's were time is your biggest investment, you might as well develop yourself in another industry. With EV adoption increasing exponentially and with all the incentives to do so, North American oil and gas will exist minimally by the end of the decade.
Good question to the first reply. This is a company that is the forefront of sustainability initiatives and they are quite stable. I think chemicals will be around for a really long time especially as they have a wide variety of applications. Shell long-term believes in chemicals/ petchem hence why they sell refineries but keep the chemical plants. I had an opportunity to join tech but I honestly feel that industry will implode very soon. My brother is in tech he has the same sentiments. As long as a recession hits and ppl and companies do not have discretionary spending tech is usually the first to be hit. Education, pharma, food and chemicals (if diversified well enough) I think are safer bets. I don't much I'm only 24 but this is how I view the market situation I could be very wrong though :-)
So why did you join a chemical company if your views are to leave the industry?