Back to the patch?

Hello All
I have been reading this forum for some time now and have enjoyed the knowledge and advice that I have seen here. I have a question that I need advice for. I currently work for a government contractor as a boat captain. This is a very secure job with o.k. pay; I am home most nights, and off most weekends. The work can be boring with little or no challenge. I have been thinking about going back to the oil field to run crew boats. I have a good realtionship with my old company and they have offered my old job back. The pay is much better in the oil field then what I am making currently. I have been hearing rumors of boats being laid up and crews being laid off. Is this the current situation out in the oil field? The last thing that I want to do is to leave a secure job and go to a job that I might be laid off. Can anyone tell me the situation out there? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Thank you for taking your time.

Keep the job you have, it is not any better over hear even if there is more money. Going home at night is a blessing to be cherished!

Since you are going back to a job and a company that you have previously worked for and have experience with, you should be aware of the good and the bad of both. You are in a unique position to make a decision since you have experience with both. Be realistic about what is important to you. $$ and challenge or boredom & quality of life. How did your company treat employees when you were there before? My guess is not much has changed since you left (depending on how long ago that was) and the things that weighed on you to cause you to originally leave are still in place.

Thanks for the advice. The company I worked for treated their employees well. They were always good about working with you on your schedule. They were also good at keeping the boats up.There have been some changes in the front office since I was there.

There’s more to life than the day rate. If it applies in your current position, I hope you’re factoring in the job security of a goverment job, the health and pension benefits, etc. Those of us with long enough memories can recall the bust days as well as the boom days in the GOM.

The job I have now is a contract job for the goverment, it is secure for the length of the contract. When the contract is over it goes up for rebid and there is no guarantee that the current employe’s will be kept on. Having said that , it is secure for about four more years unless Obama starts to cut into the defense budget.

Stay where you are for now. The bottom has fallen out in the Gulf. There is work but for how long? Going back to a old company may not be the best thing to do. As Capt Mike said it is probably still the same. Wait till the market picks up. Also the Health care benefits at most companies has changed quite a bit. It will cost you a lot more now.

Rightly so, the consensus seems to be to stay where you are. Being home at night and weekends is priceless especially if you have kids. True the money offshore has come up compared to lunch bucket boats but what good is it if it only goes to a divorce lawyer?

Thanks for all the great advice, it definitely gives me points to ponder. My biggest concern is the chance of being layed off if I went back. My wife and I have a very strong marriage with no kids so that part would not be a issue. I guess it goes back to the old saying , the grass is not always greener on the other side.