I completed and received my NI Unlimited DPO in 2015 and was laid off shortly after.
It has been very difficult to find steady DP work in the last few years, and I’m a few days short of the 150 days required to revalidate my cert.
Revalidation courses cost $1500-$3000; I can spend $1500 at MPT + $1500 for travel / lodging, or $3000 for Kongsberg Houston and commute daily.
Working offshore is getting expensive and I can’t understand how people are maintaining these licenses. No one seems to be hiring or training new DPOs and most employers don’t pay for classes any longer – I don’t see how this is sustainable.
If you’re talking about drilling companies, yeah it’s still competitive. If you mean OSV operators, there’s plenty hiring if you’re not mentally retarded.
I’ve been working as a DPO on a drillship through a staffing agency, but paying for foreign licenses has cost ~$1000 and I pay for my own travel each hitch. Seems every drilling company has a hiring freeze and just rents DPOs now.
I’ve applied to every workboat posting I’ve ever gotten an alert for and never heard back. I guess I’m retarded.
ECO has its own training center and covers all your training with a 2 year work commitment. The training center is really top notch especially considering the location.
Looks like original poster needs to take the revalidation class. ECO training center is top notch, but does not have NI approval for the revalidation course.
What is the appeal of being a DPO on a MODU now? Especially for Americans? Seems like the industry will for the most part be in this state for the unforeseeable future. I guess I just don’t see the appeal anymore, when the money has evened out between sectors and has increased onshore.
It:s not sustainable in the near term and if things don’t turn around in the next couple years company’s are going to be hard pressed to find qualified Mariners if things do turn around as people can’t afford to maintain licenses and support their families waiting for work
It’s tough to keep the days you need to maintain a license when there are few jobs available
Likely the appeal is still being able to make $150k+ whilst literally fucking off sitting on your ass creeping on Facebook. Same appeal as it always was.
$150k to sit on your ass, learn no skills, waste good years of your life. Don’t see the appeal, plus not sure I have heard of salaries still that high, maybe for a Sr.
The particular drilling company I work for, (perhaps the biggest based on the metric used) payed Junior DPOs about $130k back in 2014 (the last year I was privy to a complete pay scale list) and we never took a pay cut in the downturn.