Schlumberger Reviews in Houston, TX Area

Pros

Multicultural; career opportunities; growth potential

Cons

Siloed company; not clear career path

Advice to Senior Management

Strategic is better than tactical approaches when putting together a technology roadmap

Pros

Having worked for a multitude of Fortune 500 companies, working for SLB was a revelation.
The training is superb, graduates undergo a fixed step training program and learn about all aspects of the Oilfield, whereas even mid-career hires get fantastic training. I personally had 11 weeks external training last year, the company average appears to be 4 weeks training, of your own choosing.
Recognition of hard work does not seem to be a problem, just ensure that you don't expect people to give you something for nothing, if you do something good, ensure everyone knows!
The company very much employs 'Type-A' personalities, so you need to be driven and motivated to work here.
The career advancement opportunities are huge, with no real boundaries to where you can go. Not only this but Schlumberger is seen as one of the best places for producing quality employees, so having SLB on your resume certainly makes you attractive to other Oil & Gas companies.

Cons

There appears to be a significant difference within job satisfaction when comparing field engineers and office workers.
The office guys have a much better time, more recognition and more career prospects with good health and safety measures.
This does not appear to be completely similar with field workers.
Remuneration is not as good as competitors, but get yourself on an IM contract and it all gets good again.
Internal services such as IT are way behind the norm as all of the good people get sent to clients, the average people are left behind to run the business inside.

Advice to Senior Management

Show a consistent front to all segments of the company regarding both career advancement and health & safety.
Internal processes need just as much focus as external/client based.

Pros

I worked at Schlumberger about 30 years ago. I really enjoyed my time there. There was great camaraderie between the workers in my department anyway. I felt that I was treated well and was included in my first bonus payout even having been employed there for only a few months.

Cons

The only down side is the cyclical nature of oil and gas. When oil is up things are good, when oil is down, they start reducing staff.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice would be for management to find a way to not let the ups and downs of the industry affect morale. It's tuff to see friends laid off and their jobs outsourced to temp agencies to save money. Also they should post all job openings on their website.

Pros

Good pay. Thats about it

Cons

you dont have a life

Advice to Senior Management

Start caring about your employees

Pros

- Comparative salary
- Good training
- Multi-Culture environment

Cons

-Poor management decisions
-Work life style balance out of the window
-Too much changes in all direction and sometimes loosing vision

Advice to Senior Management

- Change one thing at the time

Pros

Job constantly changes so if you like the flexibilty or seek new challenges this is the place for you

Cons

There does not seem to be cohesive strategy or planning to get things done in an organized manner

Advice to Senior Management

Improve the culture of the firm

Pros

Big organization, travel was nice in the good days

Cons

Excessive cuts during the recession... things are only just beginning to come back

Advice to Senior Management

Have a 360 degree appraisal process, not just top down

Pros

There are a lot of opportunities for travel if you like travelling. The bonus package is nice and if you are an American citizen you can actually get a given multiple (i forget what the formal name is) times your base salary.

Cons

You are basically married to the job and you stay at the field site for extended periods of time. You should also throw the notion of a 9 to 5 out the window. You can be called in at 2 am to make a 4hr drive.

Advice to Senior Management

The management can do better.

Pros

-Good training
-Hire fresh-outs with general engineering/science background, no petroleum background necessery
-Global footprint - you can work anywhere in the world
-Management and technical career progression paths available
-Very diverse

Cons

-Very demanding job
-Tight on money
-Employess constantly complain about employer and management. Low morale

Advice to Senior Management

Pay more attention to those in trenches. Spend a little bit more money on team building. Spend less time in front of your computer!

Pros

salary + bonus + non-exempt from overtime. Working with instruments and equipment to provide client with accurate, precise, & reproduceable data/study about the reservoir fluid in their field/well.

Cons

project engineers + last minute notice about weekend and overtime work when necessary + neutral management style.

Advice to Senior Management

Create a weblink on the HUB for employee opinion and input about how to better Schlumberger.