Career possibilities
There are many job opportunities as ROV Pilots and they can be distinguished between:- Offshore work
- Onshore work
Offshore work consists of using ROVs underwater whereas Onshore work consists of using ROVs on dry land, in ROV-producing companies, in the maintenance services providers or for all those posts with high environmental risk for humans (for example, esplosive device disposal or inspection of contaminated land).
Offshore sector offers more job opportunities thanks to the recent surge in demand of ROVs technology by oil & gas industry to contractors (firms that supply materials or labour for other companies). As a consequence, the ROV-producing companies design and produce new and advanced ROVs so this is a fast developing sector.
According to a survey conducted by IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) and published in the Information Note R 04/09 , an investigation that has involved 39 of the most important contractors, the ROV pilots/technicians in the world went from 1589 (February 2007) to 3748 in the year 2008, doubling in just 18 months. Over 90% of these pilots work in the two major areas, underwater drilling and construction, while the remaining 10% work for inspections and for the laying of submarine cables.
The contracts that are offered to the ROV pilots are mainly of two types: as freelancers on daily fee (in this case, they are often mediated by specific employment agencies) or as employees with a fixed salary, with a different fee depending on whether the pilot is at home because of days off or if he is in offshore mission.
The request by the contractors varies depending on the experience of the Pilot. Pilots with little experience are preferred by enterprises to integrate them into their workforce as employees, while pilots with more experience work as freelancers.
Offshore sector offers more job opportunities thanks to the recent surge in demand of ROVs technology by oil & gas industry to contractors (firms that supply materials or labour for other companies). As a consequence, the ROV-producing companies design and produce new and advanced ROVs so this is a fast developing sector.
According to a survey conducted by IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association) and published in the Information Note R 04/09 , an investigation that has involved 39 of the most important contractors, the ROV pilots/technicians in the world went from 1589 (February 2007) to 3748 in the year 2008, doubling in just 18 months. Over 90% of these pilots work in the two major areas, underwater drilling and construction, while the remaining 10% work for inspections and for the laying of submarine cables.
The contracts that are offered to the ROV pilots are mainly of two types: as freelancers on daily fee (in this case, they are often mediated by specific employment agencies) or as employees with a fixed salary, with a different fee depending on whether the pilot is at home because of days off or if he is in offshore mission.
The request by the contractors varies depending on the experience of the Pilot. Pilots with little experience are preferred by enterprises to integrate them into their workforce as employees, while pilots with more experience work as freelancers.
