I have roughly 4 years of reservoir engineering experience and a bachelors in petroleum engineering. I've recently had a phone interview regarding an analyst position for an A&D group. I have another in person interview this week, but I have a concern about total comp. They told me this position is straight "analyst" and not open to analyst 1/2/3. As a 4 year engineer, my total comp is already +/- $150k, which is pretty good considering the time I spend in the office. I don't want to waste a few hours of my time, and theirs, by going in to interview and then finding out the pay is $90k +$50k bonus...or something like that. The hours I would be expected to work would not be worth it, although I do really want to get into A&D. I'd rather continue to gain current experience and look for an associate A&D position in a year or 2.
Any input on what comp I could be looking at or other advice in general?
I would go for the interview and bring it up if you get the offer. At that point, you can start worrying about/making the case for why you should be compensated more. It'll probably be tough to reach that 150k mark, but maybe you could talk to them about a potential early promotion to associate if you do well your first year. If that isn't something you want to do but you make a good impression on them, you could keep a dialogue going and try to come in as an associate in 1-2 years.
The other thing to think about is salary progression. Even if you start off lower, in a few years you could be making significantly more in A&D than as an engineer for an o&g firm. But there will be the work/life balance sacrifice.
Thanks for the advice
anybody else?
I would honestly not worry too much about comp at this stage. After you get an offer you can try to negotiate some reasonable comp, but it won't be significantly higher if at all than your current comp if it's an analyst position. You should think more in terms of salary progression. As an analyst, your pay per hour is already going to be significantly less than it is, but it will increase rapidly.
As a personal anecdote, my friend worked in tech at a google/facebook/Microsoft. His first year pay was higher than mine in banking as a first year analyst and he worked half the hours. My target comp for next year though is significantly higher than his, though he still wins out lifestyle wise.
I think you should think carefully about your reasons for going into A&D. If lifestyle and comp is such a big concern you may not want to do it, as you might have lower or equivalent comp with worse hours. If you want to actually enter A&D then put comp aside and recognize that you'll be learning a ton and have potential to exceed your current comp relatively soon. You are right though that now is perhaps not the best time to be looking for a job. Once the markets pick up you will likely have a greater selection of jobs and another year of experience working in the industry to add to your resume. My recommendation would be to wait.
Thanks for that advice.
There is no doubt in my mind that I want to get involved in A&D. The question I am struggling with is..."Is it the right move to give up my current O&G position (where I am continuing to grow as an engineer) for an A&D analyst position (where my initial work will be very tech-ish, but it will help me get my foot in the door)? I need to decide if the doubling of work hours and analyst job responsibilities is worth total comp that is less than what I currently make. However, that gets me into the A&D world. Option 2 is to stay with an E&P, get another 1-2 years engineering experience, and then make the move to A&D associate.
It's basically a balance of all of that...if it makes sense.
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