I’ve noticed an upsurge of BTC employees getting expat positions and I bet the company is putting the screws to them in terms of expat compensation. For anyone else desiring an expat assignment in the coming years good luck. The company is hooked on cheap labor.
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Ah, it don't matter no more. Exxon can't find no more oil anyway. Exploration Dept is like Jed Clampett shootin' at some grub.
@ubx+1fg8tN2o
“ After 1992 I rotated 28/28 and the pay and time off was great. Retired FI. Thanks EM.”
True, but those times are as far away from us as the dinosaurs. To mention that in todays context is not just irrelevant, it’s simply insulting to our young colleagues.
Take that from somebody who’s been in the industry for 35 years.
When I first went Expat 30 years ago, expats made all decisions onsite without have to call anyone except at end of week to give summary of all major decisions made and implemented that week.
Now a new hire or BTC engineer can be sent expat and not make any decisions. New company culture forbids making significant decisions on site.
Gone are the days when an expat had to be a competent expert.
The problem will show itself when the last competent expert retires and there is nobody in EM the BTC expat engineer can email for guidance. His Manager, with no clue about technical issues, will be unable to make a decision without a competent expert to refer to/blame if goes wrong.
I agree with the old timer post. The younger expats they send are mainly there for business exposure and to get their ticket punched to move on. Haven't really seen one applying themselves to learn a specific skill. The harder working affiliate engineers run circles around them. Consequently, it's the affiliate engineers who will be selected for lead positions at some point, not BTC.
Lots of opportunities for our BTC colleagues. No opportunities for those of us in the West.
There is a big push to get the BTC folks hands on experiences. Some are doing well with it and some not so well. There are also many abuses in the system where people are required to travel on a routine and extended basis to support projects, yet its called "business travel" In these days of PIP the Company knows they can intimidate people into it. It will not be forgotten when the shoe is on the other foot soon.
Between 1982 and 1992 i took three expat family assignments (Muscat, Oman. London and finally Aberdeen. The pay and benefits were great. After 1992 I rotated 28/28 and the pay and time off was great. Retired FI. Thanks EM.
Many of us old timer expats still going strong. Affiliates need us more than ever. Nobody else ready to completely fill in.
More outsourcing coming. The great reset after all.
I have no doubt the company has a “special” expat compensation package for the BTC folks.
Another step further……your job has proven to be acceptable as performed from your mom’s basement
Expats were in high demand back in the day due to developing countries not having the skilled workforce to staff. Now that these countries have a higher skilled workforce, laws requiring the hiring of local nationals, and the BTC to cover most of the rest, there’ll be little need for whiny/entitled US expats. Remember, we’re a commodity business and our labor is a commodity. We’re not special and we weren’t hired for creativity. We were hired to make PowerPoints for our managers.
To take it a step further, if your job can be done from the Houston campus, why couldn’t it be done from the BTC. Realize those efficiencies we’re making in our job roles are just helping us outsource our work to the BTC even quicker. The pay has gradually gotten so bad over the last 5+ years and it’s not going to stop.