Electrical engineers offshore will work on everything from basic electrical maintenance on the rig, through to designing, installing and maintaining electrical systems. Due to the environment you will work in, it’s important to acknowledge the potential risks from electrical work, most notably the explosive environment.
The focus of your role will be to provide technical and engineering support to the offshore teams as well as monitoring performance of electronic systems like communications and instrumentation. You will be tasked with identifying long term strategies that whilst meeting statutory regulations will also bring greater efficiencies.
You could work as a self-employed contractor or for a range of companies including operators, service companies and engineering consultancies.
Salary and Progression
At the start of your career you can expect to earn £20,000-£30,000. With experience and career progression you could aim to be a Senior or Principal Engineer or even manage a team of engineers. Salaries once chartered will be well in excess of £50,000.
Training and Experience Requirements
As an electrical engineer you will be expected to have substantial experience as an electrician onshore. Ideally this will be supported with a HND or Degree in a related engineering discipline.
Working on an offshore Oil or Gas installation, which is counted as an explosive environment, personnel will need to be certificated as a CompEx Electrical engineer.
In addition, to work offshore, you will require valid basic offshore certificates including:
- BOSIET
- MIST
- CA-EBS
- Shoulder Measurements
- Offshore Medical
It is likely that an employer will ask for other certificates too. It’s always a good idea to look at a range of job posts to identify commonly requested training requirements.
