Case studies: Mudlogger: Ed

Ed graduated with a degree in geology and works for Geoservices, based in Aberdeen. Ed lives in Wales but spends his working life offshore in the North Sea.

I chose a career in working offshore primarily because of the 'time off' benefits and the future prospects. As a mudlogger, I work for two weeks and then have two weeks free (paid) time for myself.

I saw my current job advertised on the company website and applied through Monster. Within days I had a call from the human resources department and arranged a telephone interview. After this I went to a recruitment day and had a formal interview.

My tip for getting a mudlogging job is: do your research. Search online and ask people you know about the company and the job. Ask questions in the interview too.

The principle role of the logger is to collect and describe samples of cuttings, which I learnt how to do during my course at university. This may be done alone or with the wellsite geologist. You must also monitor the well when the data engineer (your partner, more experienced mudlogger) is away. This is crucial to drilling operations and is something that will become second nature.

Experience on rigs is impossible to gain until you have a job on one, but if you try to imagine working on a very technical building site on another planet you may get some kind of idea.

You need to be understanding and tolerant living and working offshore and you will meet and work with many different people.

Most people that I have met doing this job have science (geology in particular) or engineering degrees. Geological knowledge is important but don't be discouraged from applying if you didn't do geology, you can learn as you go along.

The role develops quickly. You learn the job as you work and are thrown in at the deep end on your first few trips offshore. The fundamentals of the job are learnt on the first trip, after that your knowledge increases in detail each trip.

There are several great things about the job - the time off in between trips to do what you like, the free travel, the fact that there is no everyday commute and that everything is paid for you when you are on a rig.

The hardest thing about the job is that when you are on the rig, you are there for two weeks and there is no escape. This is not a normal job and you have to make sacrifices, which can be hard. However, if you manage your time well you can make up for this.

Professional progression is quite rapid as a mudlogger. I would like to rise up in the company and become a data engineer within a few months. After that you can choose what you would like to do: well site geologist, mud engineer, directional driller or something shore based.