Pros
Good starting point in oil industry, almost no responsibility. A lot of fun for those with technical skills and willing to learn a lot from computer / IT technologies to chemistry and geoscience. 2/3 of the job is waiting for things to happen. Plenty of trips abroad. Meeting people of different cultures and backgrounds. Some interesting training courses.
Cons
Meager salary for years. Bonuses not paid or denied. Training days no more paid (just basic salary). Tonnes of paperwork. Double- or triple- reporting same things over and over again to different parties at different periods meaning cross-checking between your own reports. Paperwork got worse when the company became a part of the SLB - more reports have to be posted online too. No spares or consumables for months or years in spite of dozens of material requests issued. Broken or missing equipment both at rigsites and technical support bases. Management, especially at the lower and middle levels, have no idea about the job in the field because they left it too many years ago or never learned it properly. They never listen to employees. Too many lies and empty promises combined with threats of 'disciplinary action' create unhappy crews. Finally, unstable crews, crazy or non-existant crew change plans and deficit of field senior staff.