Case studies: Geophysicist: Caroline

Caroline studied for her Masters in Petroleum Geosciences in France and is now a geophysicist with Shell.

I work as geophysicist in a reservoir imaging team at Shell. I completed an MSc in Petroleum Geosciences at the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) in France. I got my job three years ago after attending a few courses and case studies run by Shell for IFP students, which were very informative as well as inspiring. Meeting people from Shell gave me an excellent understanding of what it would be like to work for such an international oil company.

My studies in geology, geophysics and petroleum sciences equipped me perfectly for my role. This, coupled with an excellent on-board training programme from Shell really prepared me for the first stages of my working career.

My MSc included lectures delivered by professionals from a variety oil companies, so I got a clear understanding of what it’s like working in an integrated team of geologists, petrophysicists, reservoir engineers, etc. At Shell we work as a multidisciplinary team and my Masters at IFP prepared me for this. I also had the opportunity to participate in real case study workshops run by energy companies, which gave me some hands-on experience as well as an insight into my role. The only element missing from my studies was a focus on the importance of budgets and how resources greatly affect and impact the scope of projects.

There is no typical day in my role as I’m still learning on the job, spending half of my time learning and the other half executing. I currently have my own project that I’m fully responsible for, which deals with the delivery of all well data and overburden faults. This technical work will contribute to the choice of new wells to drill in unexplored areas. I also have the opportunity to develop my project management skills. In the future, I see myself in an asset team role, with a more operational element, such as seismic interpretation.

What I enjoy most is the level of responsibility of running my own project. The most challenging part of my job is managing varied and changing tasks and I never feel stuck in a routine. The technical work changes from area to area and since joining Shell three years ago my job has grown and evolved three times already.

The best thing about working in this sector is that you evolve in an international environment. You can discover a lot of different cultures and ways of living, which is very interesting. In this world where the demand for energy is increasing dramatically, finding new sources of energy will become the challenge of the next decades, and it’s fascinating to work in this competitive environment.

If you’re interested in working as a geophysicist, you should make the most of opportunities to attend lectures and participate in case study workshops. Meeting professionals will give you invaluable insight into the culture of their organisations and you’ll get an idea of whether certain companies are a good fit for you too. It’s also a great asset if you’re culturally aware and think internationally.