Thread by @electronecon

10 years ago was the height of the great recession, unemployment had just hit 10%, and yet 10 years ago today is when I chose to quit my job. So, here is why I left the oil and gas industry, a thread.
Thread 🚨🚨🚨 1/???

That morning started like most morning, got to the refinery before 8AM, put on my Nomex coveralls and hard hat and went to go find the senior staffer to give him the news...

My colleague John was smoking at the refinery we were working at, which was and remains the largest refinery in Hawaii. John’s smoking spot was located inside the fence line but far enough from the raw crude oil and refined products as to not cause concern for explosion. 3/

I turned and projected over the buzzing industrial pumps,
“Friday is going to be my last day.”
“Don’t think the boss man is going to like that,” he shrugged.
And he wasn't wrong.
4/

It would start a string of convos middle + upper mgmt and eventually form the VP of the fortune 500 Company I was working for, Baker Hughes, an “oil and gas services company” whose best-known competitor is Halliburton. But none would be successful in tempting me to stay. 5/

So why would a 25-year-old, amid the worst recession of generation, quit his stable six-figure salary? Why would I choose that moment to leave? 6/

Let's start off way before that, back in HS I volunteered 100’s of hours at Kansas University volunteering for the Paleo lab. I spent a summer at chemistry camp. I was, by every measure, a young and aspiring chemist but I would not end up pursuing a career in chemistry. Why? 7/

I would opt to study chem eng over chemistry based on a set of post-graduation stats:
1) ChemE's enjoyed a higher percentage of employment at the time of graduation, and;
2) The highest average starting salary (at the time) of any bachelor’s degree.
8/

The truth was, even before the recession, I was worried about how I would pay for the life I wanted to live. College is expensive and I was the type of kid that worried.
9/

At the time of graduation, I had options but I chose engineering consulting which put me on the “fast track” at a large corporation (33,000 employees operating in 90+ countries) and would pay about 50% more than any other offer (not to mention considerable benefits). 10/

The role would include a fair amount of environmental engineering and I thought maybe I could help these companies reduce its air and water emissions. I justified it a lot of different ways... But like most kids looking at job offers, the salary played a big role. 11/

The reality one I got there, however, was grim. Turns out the crux of my job was enabling billion-dollar corps to poison the very community I lived in so that it could increase profit margins by factions of a percent. And I was ashamed of myself but that was only part of it 12/

I started to struggle at Baker almost immediately. My 1st manager would go on to tell me to ignore every instinct I might ever have. I would take his advice for a little while, but I regret that. It would take years of help and reflection to realize the reason I struggled... 13/

As should all know now (thanks to some great reporting) The O&G industry is INCREDIBLY Toxic.
Sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and just straight up bullying, I saw it all.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrah…

Now I'm not going to detail all the horrible things I heard and saw, mostly b/c I just don't see the value in repeating it, but suffice to say, it wasn't a welcoming place.
15/

Its worth saying, many of the people I worked with were kind and thoughtful people. The engineers, operations staff, and administrators I worked alongside incl. many wonderful souls. Hard-working people many just trying to support their families during a harsh economy. 16/

And I'm also not saying that the non-profit world is a utopia of inclusion and acceptance with no problems. We have a long ways to go and have lots of problems to deal with but there is a noticeable difference between the non-profit problem and O&G and its this... 17/

But the biggest, most noticeable problematic behavior: Neither Baker Hughes nor any of my O&G clients ever saw the toxic work environment as an actual problem. Just the opposite, they saw it as a strength. 18/

It was/is the people in power that were the most toxic. They would manage and mentor the up-and-coming staff. They would, in turn, succeed by adopting the same toxic tactics of the veteran employees that came before them. It was a toxic cycle! 19/

Endure so that you can become stronger. Confirm to the group so the group will grow and become stronger. It creates a huge toxic cloud that becomes impossible to escape. Breath it in and learn to love it, or get the hell out. 20/

I know this isn’t the experience that everyone in the industry has had. And me sharing my experience is not meant to invalidate anyone else’s. But I know I’m not the only one. Another example. 21/ forbes.com/sites/quora/20…

Last year, while at a professionals in energy cocktail hour, I met a young economist at a fossil fuel trade association. Sadly, we had many stories to share about the prevalence of sexism and sexual harassment in the industry. And another story: 21/ houstonchronicle.com/business/energ…

Okay, so the fossil fuels co's pay well but sell a toxic product and create a toxic work environment. What's a young aspiring professional to do? I Opted to move 12k miles, halfway across the globe! 22/

I lived abroad for a lil while, did some traveling, but most of the time I spent studying career options and preparing grad school applications. It was a hard choice, lots of good options out there, it turns out. 23/

I ended up the choosing @ColumbiaMPA_ESP program. Had a great time in NYC, took every econ and finance course I could and committed to applying my engineering and newly found economics skills to good use. 24/

You could observe my path as having spent my first career helping fossil fuel companies stay in business and my second career as putting them out of business, but that isn’t how I look at it.... 25/

I prefer to see it as the continuation of the same career arc, that took a slight deflection after it looked itself in the mirror. I've always been interested in serving my community and acting in the public interest and that is definitely how I see my job today. 26/

For those in the industry: it is hard to leave the "golden handcuffs" of a well-paying job and I'm sure the companies still tell you that you have no other options but you do. There are lots of great career options out there. 27/

And for those of you looking to graduate in May and looking for a job here is a bit of advice. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. Take advice, process it, but you know yourself and you got where you w/ your instincts. 28/

I'm not going to tell you to ignore salary, you have bills you gotta pay but don't forget that you are going to spend a lot of your waking hours at your job. So try to find something you are excited about, that you'll enjoy, that has good people working there and a good manager.