I would like to make some changes because I started to feel stuck here. I haven't made any progress in my career for a long time, despite all my efforts. And yet, it's not an easy decision, given that the grass isn't much greener in other companies in the industry either. I'm interested in what you think are the pros and cons of working at Chevron compared to other companies in the industry?
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People seem to fail to grasp that Chevron employees have a great reputation. Any time you downsize to a smaller company you are almost to guaranteed to "upsize" to a more important job than you had at Chevron. This means your salary, benefits, influence and job satisfaction will increase as well. Win-win.
I have known headhunters for small and mid cap oil companies to cruise the Chevron hi-pot lists to fill GM and even VP slots. It happens. Don't miss your chance to leverage a Chevron job into a better one if you see yourself plateauing.
I have know a lot of energy professionals over the years that left their current jobs because they knew they were stuck at their current company. A lot of them did very well and got promotions to management. Some did not fair so well. There is always risk when making a change. If you decide to leave your current job, do so for the right reasons.
All the multinationals are in a state of turmoil right now, due to their exposure to the Green Transition. If you're committed to a career in the oil industry, right now you'll be better off with a mid-size company or smaller, those who still focus on oil and gas.
In general, I think it is better to work at a company where the HQ is located in-country i.e. Americans better off at Chevron and XOM and Brits are better off at Shell and BP.
Many people at all levels have left Chevron for much better jobs elsewhere. Several have even left to become CEO at smaller companies to great acclaim, success and personal profit. It is an art to know when you have peaked at Chevron and don't become one of the many "walking dead" who will never advance too far and are missing out by not jumping.
The mergers have always been fun because there are often huge numbers of employees (at Texaco, Unocal, Noble, etc) who had fled Chevron many years ago because they hated it. They were normally the first to make other plans when the merger was announced.
You think CVX is bad, come to XOM, CVX HAS to be better!
I moved to a smaller, but respected E&P. I left Chevron with a group-think, DRB dependent mentality when it came to making decisions. Now I make my own decisions supported by my manager and have a team of very capable engineers and field personnel. The level of trust here vs Chevron is night and day. I embrace the accountability bc it comes with better pay and benefits. I haven’t looked back.
No better than Chevron!!
Chevron used to be the epitome of a great culture, back in the Chevron Way days and when our guiding principle was to find and produce oil and gas. That culture has all but disappeared, now it's social engineering, cronyism, and cow manure. The winning formula for the non-high-pots now seems to be angle yourself into some good projects where your experience fattens your resume, perfect your skills, then around year 15 move on. If you stay with Chevron more than that, your chances of promotion (technical or managerial) drop off rapidly, and you become 'too old' for either Chevron or other companies to have interest in you.
Cool story bro, @hed. I also always visit the layoff site of the company that I used to work at to troll people and make up stories too since the place I ended up at is horrible. Otherwise I would have no reason to troll my old coworkers whom I am envious of because I would be happy and content at my new fictitious job.