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Career
Overview
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In order to become a Drilling
Fluids Tech, you need to study the field of Drilling fluids
technology.
There are various schools
around the country which that have been graduating fluids hands for
years, but most are private,
owned by the Big Mud Companies, and they have become more
particular about when and whom
they choose to send to school these days, and for good
reason. Over the years, most
schools have become more book & product oriented, and most
have lost the practical aspect
of properly running / engineering a drilling fluid. As a mud
hand for over 30 years, I have had the opportunity to
work with mud technicians all over
the world. A handful of
techs actually "engineer" the drilling fluids, but the vast
majority operate on
check-to-check basis, 'checking the mud' and prescribing reactive,
temporary treatments to repair
the current, degraded property(s). A mud hand graduating
from any
professional Mud School should be able to analyze a fluid properly,
administer treatment properly, and professionally manage any drilling fluid,
on any rig,
anywhere.
GET PROFESSIONAL TRAINING... it matters.
Students graduating from
DFE tech
are able to step on a rig anywhere in the world and
properly
prescribe the correct fluids
treatment within an hour of an analysis. Our technicians are trained in the
mathematics of running mud
properly instead of the reactive position of checking the mud and
concocting
a temporary fix
each day to repair whichever property is in need of
repair. This is what we call being
'run by the mud.' There are check and fix
mud hands, and there and there are
Professional Fluids Technicians.
The Fluids Technician
field is desperately in need of good hands that actually
understand the process of
"engineering" a drilling fluid. The industry needs technicians
that can count, technicians
that can operate a basic office computer, and are able to communicate
well with other hands on the
rigs.
Engineering a fluids properly requires math, and the
math is not difficult. Common sense, an ability to 'look ahead', and a solid
understanding
of the drilling fluids
management process will take you far in this occupation.
Average starting salary for
fluids technicians is +/- $4500 to $5500 per month.
That's 54K to 66K per year.
This does not include 401K matching, a company vehicle,
an expense account, all
gasoline paid, inexpensive insurance benefits, and all equipment
issued including computer &
mud equipment. In my opinion, the Mud Technician's position
is arguably the best job in
the oilfield, and one of the least known and understood. Hands may
work 7 days on: 7 days off, 14
and 14, 28 and 28, or make local rig checks on a daily basis.
Want
to travel ?
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