An Inconvenient Life: My Unconventional Career as a Wellsite Geologist

Follow the unconventional career of Geologist Amanda Barlow as she details the path she followed to get to where she is today – a Wellsite Geologist working in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Through resource industry busts and booms and a career hiatus taken to raise three children, Amanda’s resilience and resourcefulness has seen her transition from a hard rock Geologist working on base metal drilling programs to a Wellsite Geologist in the coal seam gas industry and then in offshore oil and gas drilling programs; a career spanning over 30 years. Through working with some of the biggest resource companies in the world Amanda has worked within the most stringent safety cultures in the industry.
Once the domain of all-male workforces, while the offshore drilling industry now employs a small percentage of females, it is still common to be the only female on the rig with up to 180 males at times. The offshore workforce is made up of specialists from around the world who have to work in harmony despite language, culture and gender differences. Amanda describes what it’s like to work in this environment and the challenges facing people who constantly travel long distances to work in remote areas of the world, spending weeks away from family and friends.
While there is no doubt about the financial benefits, there are many sacrifices to be made by people who choose to live the “fly in-fly out” lifestyle. This 56-year-old mother of three adult children has not only survived a life of working in the industry but has thrived on the challenges facing a contract Geologist in this demanding field. Working 12+ hour days for seven days a week, weeks at a time in a confined and dangerous area and with strict rules that have to be adhered to or you’ll find yourself on the next chopper home, definitely isn’t for everyone. But you’ll soon realize Amanda Barlow isn’t one to conform to “normal” stereotypes!