Geologist in the oil industry

[notanexpert]

A family member of mine is exploring the possibility of moving to Calgary. He has a master's degree in geology specializing in oil and gas. Right now he has 5 years of experience working for an Italian company doing drilling in north Africa.
Can anyone give advice on what type of salary and benefits he could expect in Calgary? Do companies pay moving expenses or signing bonuses for people in his field? Would he be able to find work in his field easily that would pay enough to afford a good lifestyle in relatively expensive Calgary while his wife stays home with their two kids?
Thanks for any advice, especially from people who are familiar with the field and job prospects in AB.

[dark169]

A family member of mine is exploring the possibility of moving to Calgary. He has a master's degree in geology specializing in oil and gas. Right now he has 5 years of experience working for an Italian company doing drilling in north Africa.
Can anyone give advice on what type of salary and benefits he could expect in Calgary? The apegga salary servey may help http://www.apegga.org/Members/Publications/salarysurvey.html

Do companies pay moving expenses or signing bonuses for people in his field? Yes and No, it depends


Would he be able to find work in his field easily that would pay enough to afford a good lifestyle in relatively expensive Calgary while his wife stays home with their two kids? again depends, but my guess is yes.

[Bazooka Joe]

FYI, I'm a mining engineer who has previously worked in Fort McMurray with many friends who happen to have P. Geo status.

A family member of mine is exploring the possibility of moving to Calgary. He has a master's degree in geology specializing in oil and gas. Right now he has 5 years of experience working for an Italian company doing drilling in north Africa.
Can anyone give advice on what type of salary and benefits he could expect in Calgary?

Would he be willing to travel or go home every night? With travel (up to 2 weeks on 2 off) I would expect $80k-$100k. Without travel, significantly less $60k-$80k unless he's lucky.

Edit: this is straight pay. Also expect living allowance, bonus and if the company is large enough - stock options.

Do companies pay moving expenses or signing bonuses for people in his field?

Moving is a guarantee. Bonus isn't, but easily negotiated (or rolled into moving expenses). Both will require a couple of years committment.

Would he be able to find work in his field easily that would pay enough to afford a good lifestyle in relatively expensive Calgary while his wife stays home with their two kids?

Heh, depends on your definition of "good lifestyle". I'd say yes, but the silver spoon crowd might say no. A lot depends on spending habits.

Thanks for any advice, especially from people who are familiar with the field and job prospects in AB.

If he's looking for work, I'd highly suggest using www.infomine.com. The membership is kinda steep, but it is pretty much the place to find jobs in the mining sector which is quickly involving geology and related fields. You can see the titles of the job postings as well as about 50% of the listings without a membership, so look it over and see if it's for you before paying.

[notanexpert]

Thank you both for valuable information.

[dark169]

another thing to consider is Canadian experience, where did your family member get their degree. Is English their first language? Internationally trained/experienced engineers and geo-scientists can have a hard time starting out.

[notanexpert]

His story is that he wants to spend evenings with his family. Right now he is bringing in very good coin, but the work is 5 weeks in the Libyan desert - 5 weeks at home in Krakow, Poland. English is not his first language, but it is the first language on the job that he has now with a multinational based in Italy. His undergrad and master's degree is from Poland.
He wants to find work where he comes home every evening, and that is very tough in Europe he said. He does have permanent resident status in Canada, as of yesterday.

[dark169]

Have him contact apegga and see whats going to be required to get his P.Geo. get the ball rolling on that ASAP as it will be the #1 question a potential employer will ask.

Theres lots of geology jobs in downtown Calgary, the market is a little fickle right now for new grads but experienced P.Geo's have a pretty rosey job market.