The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement has asked major US producers to provide names of recently retired petroleum engineers who could help the agency improve offshore oil and gas operations, BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich disclosed.
The initiative is part of several funding alternatives being explored, he said during an Apr. 19 Center for Strategic and International Studies forum.
Bromwich said the engineers would be asked to come on board temporarily to bridge the gap until BOEMRE is able to hire more inspectors and analysts. Potential conflicts of interest would be avoided by having them not work on projects involving their former employers, he said.
While visiting several universities in October and November, Bromwich said there was a strong interest in jobs as BOEMRE inspectors. He visited petroleum engineering departments.
BOEMRE also received inquiries but several potential applicants lost interest when they saw the starting salaries, which are significantly lower than what companies in the industry offer, he said.
Consequently, BOEMRE has asked the US Office of Personnel Management to let the US Department of the Interior agency pay more than the normal GS-7 salary for federal employees with university undergraduate degrees, Bromwich said.
Meanwhile, BOEMRE will appeal to retired engineers who are interested in providing short-term government service without returning to their careers’ sometimes rigorous conditions of spending several days offshore, he said.
It appears that the government is having trouble finding people who want to work for them. A word of warning to any engineer who thinks BOEMRE may be a good career choice. You will never gain any experience and you will be seen by your peers as someone who only serves to block progress. If you want the enjoyment of creation and a challenge, do not go to work for BOEMRE. All you will do is push paper. You will never have any substantial authority over a project and you will have to wait for your boss to die before you get a promotion.
I have spent over 30 years gathering the experience I have. If BOEMRE wants to gain access to my brain, they will need to pay much much more than a measly GS-9 salary.
1 comment:
They'll eventually get it. They'll issue a contract to ___(Jacobs/etc.)__ for a million and change for half a dozen petroleum engineers. One of the quirks of government is you can give a contract for professional services for a lot more money than you can to actually hire the person.
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