Schlumberger work a different model to most consultancies. They're also quite new as they've grown out of the petrochems services company. They’re only in Oil and Gas and they tend to work at the front-line offices of big oil co’s in weird and wonderful places. If you’re UK based, likely places like Angola, Algeria, Nigeria etc – not the cities but right out in the sticks. They work a shift system in line with what the oil workers work, so you do say 8 weeks on, 3 weeks off or whatever. You get paid a pretty good base salary, plus you get a “danger multiplier” depending on how dangerous the country is you work, so could be from 1.1-1.6 of what your salary is from what I hear. Given there have been examples of contractors (don’t think Schlumberger but you never can say) being kidnapped in some countries, it obviously shouldn’t be regarded as free money. When in the countries themselves, you stay in “safehouses” rather than hotels and depending on the location, you may have an armed bodyguard. You’re also likely to work either on your own or with one or two colleagues. So, it’s up to you really. Sounds more an opportunity for young, single guys or career loners looking to get some cash behind them rather than a long term career. I had a friend who interviewed with them at the start of the year and he said they had some capable and successful people, but they were a bit of a shambles in London (perhaps not surprising as they don’t need a strong core when people are rarely in the office). They were recruiting to Dubai and Singapore a while back so maybe some good lifestyle opps there, though given some of the countries that have oil near to these locations you may not choose to work there.
