Wanting to get started.

Member Joined: Sep 26, 2006

Hi all, first post here and already im asking questions Rolling Eyes

Im trying to get into the ROV industry but im finding it difficult to get the money together for the course.

Does anyone on here know how i might be able to get funding, perhaps some sort of education grant, to get me started?

Thanks for your time, Mark

Member Joined: Sep 01, 2005

before this site decided to combust itself and destroy half the old forums there was plenty advice about rov courses and the general point being. DON'T DO!!! WASTE OF MONEY!! if you have something to offer the companies ie electrical, mechanical, know the bosses brother then you will get a start.

whats your background?

this time of year isnt the best for companies hiring.

have you done your survival and medical you could try at least get a job offshore with a drilling company, then when applying for jobs you have a)survival certs b)offshore experience.
before i get knocked for that its what happened to me i hated despised the drilling side of a rig, right place right time and hey presto!

best of luck!

Member Joined: Sep 26, 2006 Location: Victoria BC Canada

I agree, dont bother with the so called "training course", I had a guy appear on my team once with 'INSTRUCTOR' f***king coveralls on from a course he'd done. They liked him so much they had him teach for a while. TEACH WHAT....the guy had never set foot offshore. The arrogant SOB lasted 3 days.

My advice, get your OPITO survival and UKOOA medical, then get a half decent CV/RESUME together indicating your previous industrial experience. If you have no industrial background, ie electronics, electrical, mechanical or hydraulics then you might want to reconsider the avenue of ROV's. (Thats just a personal view.)
Once you have your CV together get it out to the agencies around the UK, and back it up with phone calls, be persistant, you have nothing to lose. They seem to have a lot of work on and its only going to get better (I hope). I'm getting a couple of emails a week from them so the demand is there. We are not at the point of hiring just anybody, (not like the late 90's) and quite frankly I hope that dos'nt happen again because there were a lot of idiots offshore around that time.

Good luck in your quest.
Might see you in the field some day.

Member Joined: Sep 26, 2006

Hi there, thanks for the replies.

Although i have done electonics/electrical courses, i did not complete them due to unforseem circumstances. (well NVQ's were gained in electrical/mechanical and autocad, but nothing worth shouting about).

This is why i was looking at courses. They seem to offer experience as well as nationally recognised electrical/electronic quals to go with them.

I do not have any ofshore certs yet. My father has worked in the ffshore industry for about 40 years, but im trying to decide which area to concentrate on before spending what little wages i get at the moment.

Member Joined: Nov 09, 2004

Fastfingers

Beleive it or not, there are guys out here with no certification in any respect at all, some good and some bad. If you have done courses but not completed them and/or received certification, don't let it put you off. Be honnest with yourself, you must know your limitations & how confident you are, market yourself in a realistic way and you should be fine. This ROV lark isn't rocket science.

Wink

Member Joined: Sep 26, 2006 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Well said K2.....I'll pop by your cabin later mate.......got any brain pills?

If youv'e done the the course dont worry to much about the paper work. There's loads of guys good and bad with no certs so dont panic. Give it a go. Dont waste your money on ROV courses. Get your medical/survival and be done with it.

Let us know how you get on.

Later

Member Joined: Jun 05, 2004

Pay for your survival get your offshore medical
DON't go through agencies !
An agent is supposed to be providing an experienced person for the job required and charging for that service.
You will be doing yourself NO favours by going to them and you will also have the resentment of Blue eyed girls ( salary ) that do not take kindly to trainees coming out , Alot of the time with more money !
This discussion has been round a few times ! Obviously due to the problem with the website they have been lost.
Ring the ROV companies by all means , pester them , camp on their doorstep , go for interviews and if there is a slot and you Like the job then stay with that company for a couple of years , Get your experience !
Good luck !
James ,
Could not you get all the ROV companies to pitch their end in and let the ROV or people wanting to get into the ROV life see opportunities on this website ?
Surely putting adds on your website instead of the news paper would work out better for them in the long term ?

Member Joined: Jul 27, 2006

hi there from another newbe wanting to get into the industry i booked 2 rov pilot and tech courses only to be let down twice you cant learn so much in a ten week pilot /tech course ive done a 4 year apprentiship and i know it takes time to learn these things iwas just about to start a course but seeing the comments from the guys in the know i think i will have a great holiday and enjoy the money rather than set fire to it Laughing

think i will get the offshore certs and take the long road it will probably be the best option .. and cheaper ive spent 5 years as a proffesional diver and see how things work with quick fix guys its not the way to go really so hope to see ya on a survival course.. with my future sun tan pending xxxxxx thanks for the post saved me a fortune

ps anyone know the best place for the certs around asia would be good Wink

Member Joined: Sep 14, 2006 Location: Bali, Indonesia

Holy C***P!!!
Unfortunately I have already paid my money (right or wrong) and want to give working ROV's a serious go. I know its a difficult area to get into and I know I have to work my way up which Im more than happy with- Hey, you gotta start somewhere!
As you probably guessed by now another newbie Shocked

,but has a millitary background and has HF communications quals.(More unfortunately no Eng/Elec background). I know I need to get a survival cert and offshore medical but am a bit stuck on wheres the better places to go for them. Ive heard that a place Newcastle way is very good- any help is and will always be greatfully received!! Wink

Member Joined: Dec 17, 2003 Location: Thailand

Always liked that song / show...

Get knockin on the doors and put your foot in first (but not in your gob). The whole industry is screaming. I've been short a guy on the team twice already and it's going to happen again. Use your technical skills - if none THEN get some. Screw the courses. Huh and peshaw, won't grandfather me will ya'?? Gotta get yours back sometime...!!!! Thumb Down

Member Joined: Oct 02, 2006 Location: Timbuktu

how do lads another newbie here trying to get into the industry with one unsuccessful on this occasion under his belt from fugro Sad

, which is a bit dissapointing but hey thats life or fate, not sure, all the bad omens were there (ie interview originaly with rovtech and was basicaly just going to get to know me then get me of on my offshore survival then straight offshore but low and behold fugro accuire rovtech and interview is with them) I think o well bigger company great ! Interview sept 11 at 10am, thinking to myself oh dear this is all going tits up, go to interview goes well gets told 14 applicants 8 trainee positions think ok in with a chance i get offered another job but its not rov its as a mech fitter but more to do with instrumention side of things . This is plan b job so phone up fugro gets told they havent sat down yet to pick applicants, think ok turn down plan b job. 30 sept letter arrives, just know what this is and im very dissapointed . Then think oh well there loss ive been trying to get some feedback from fugro hr as to how or why i was unsuccsesfull so i can correct this if i can or get my self up to scratch on some skills i was weaker in than the other applicants but to no avail. Have to say looked at this site ages ago but did not realise there was a forum on it.By the way that hydraulics course on here very handy ive been looking to no avail to find online course .....Glad to get that of my chest Very Happy

Member Joined: Dec 17, 2003 Location: Thailand

melvodon wrote:

how do lads another newbie here trying to get into the industry with one unsuccessful on this occasion under his belt from fugro Sad

, which is a bit dissapointing but hey thats life or fate, not sure, all the bad omens were there (ie interview originaly with rovtech and was basicaly just going to get to know me then get me of on my offshore survival then straight offshore but low and behold fugro accuire rovtech and interview is with them) I think o well bigger company great ! Interview sept 11 at 10am, thinking to myself oh dear this is all going tits up, go to interview goes well gets told 14 applicants 8 trainee positions think ok in with a chance i get offered another job but its not rov its as a mech fitter but more to do with instrumention side of things . This is plan b job so phone up fugro gets told they havent sat down yet to pick applicants, think ok turn down plan b job. 30 sept letter arrives, just know what this is and im very dissapointed . Then think oh well there loss ive been trying to get some feedback from fugro hr as to how or why i was unsuccsesfull so i can correct this if i can or get my self up to scratch on some skills i was weaker in than the other applicants but to no avail. Have to say looked at this site ages ago but did not realise there was a forum on it.By the way that hydraulics course on here very handy ive been looking to no avail to find online course .....Glad to get that of my chest Very Happy

It IS good to get that stuff out of the way and get back at it by of course, knocking on some doors and saying "You need me". Keep at it and good luck.

Des_b

There is a maritime college in South Shields, Newcastle, and it is good. That's where I do my refreshers. But depending where you are in UK, there might be a centre closer to you. Which might save you from having to fork out for accommodation on top of the course fees.

Whereabouts in UK are you?

Member Joined: Nov 09, 2004

All

All UKOOA/OPITO registered doctors can be found on the UKOOA website:

http://www.ukooa.co.uk/issues/health/doctors.cfm

All venues for survival training can be found listed on Rons ROV links:

http://www.ronsrovlinks.nl/xoops/modules/wflinks/viewcat.php?cid=101

Prices vary wildly for both. Doctors seems cheaper up North and the cheapest survival courses I've found are at Fleetwood.

You can get away with the very basics but you're more employable with a COET survival and UKOOA/OLF medical.

Wink

Member Joined: Dec 28, 2003 Location: England

James & Gina

I know you guys have been doing a sterling job restoring bits of the old forum, but any chance of adding to the Rookie/Trainee wannabee FAQ section?
I guess all the old stuff must have got lost when the site crashed.

There have recently been quite a few people asking many of the usual questions that will always be asked by people looking to get a start in ROVs - such as ROV courses yes/no (NOOOOO!), skills/qualifications required, what's it like working offshore, company contact details etc etc.

I'd happily do it, but don't think I am able to add comments to FAQ's section?

melvodon
If you managed to get as far as the final 14 interview stage for an ROV trainee position at Fugro/Rovtech, but were unsuccessful this time, the odds are that you probably stand a better than average chance in future applications elsewhere than most applicants would.

Pity that they would not give you feedback on weak points, although you should usually have a good idea yourself of where a job interview has gone wrong or of your own weak points. Probably worth trying to plug any gaps and perceived weak points and keep trying. Meantime you could always go for other non-ROV offshore technician jobs to get experience of the offshore sector.

There are many factors apart from your engineering experience/qualifications etc that are looked for in potential ROV trainees, such as ability to live and work away from home for extended periods, teamwork, flexibility, adaptability, initiative, willingness to learn new skills, willingness to take a step down to start as a trainee again etc.

good luck
temp