I was inspired to write my story when I worked as an engineer for an oil and gas service firm. Had a phone call with my friend who worked there, made me think about it. My career in the oil and gas industry has certainly been a big part of my life. Nine years is such a long time, even longer than the time I needed to finish my undergrad. It was the journey that made me who I am today. My journey has been filled with challenges, ups and downs, but I feel highly grateful for what I have accomplished.  Being employed at this company allows me and my family to live comfortably. Considering my family is not wealthy, being able to support them financially is a blessing to me. However, I have gained more than just finance. I have also gained knowledge and experience in my job. These have been invaluable in helping me develop my skills and become a better professional.

I joined the company in 2013 started as an entry level engineer. For my training, I was assigned to the Borneo/Kalimantan onshore oil and gas fields. It’s my first time working with a team with diverse educational backgrounds, from high school graduates to diploma holders to bachelor’s degree holders. It’s also the first time i worked in remote area. I realized I need to adjust my communication style needed to better understood and also I need to be adaptable. I found it very difficult being in a remote area. This is particularly when there was no phone signal, lots of rain, the area got lots of muddy soil, and I still needed to complete the operation. Despite the obstacles, I am grateful that my crew always made me laugh when things got tensed and brought me to some hidden gems around the remote areas for relaxation and fun and celebrated the job’s success together.

As a Field Engineer, I have been assigned to many oil and gas fields around Indonesia. These include Aceh, the Java Sea, Duri Field, the Mahakam Sea, the Mahakam River, Badak Field, and Papua. Most of the fields are in the ocean, some close to the land and most far away in the middle of the sea. Due to the convenience of accommodations in offshore locations compared with onshore locations, I find myself more comfortable working offshore as a female engineer. When the sea when rough, internet signal became very poor, and feeling homesick hit me, things felt very uncomfortable for me. Luckily, Offshore food is one of my favorite ways to cheer myself up since it is very delicious. Furthermore, the laughter I share with my crew always makes me feel better as does a jog on top of a platform or barge, or even running on a chopper helideck on top of a barge can lift my spirits.

After being sent to several fields, I was assigned become desk engineer. The desk engineer is a customer representative who sits at the client’s office. A desk engineer’s responsibilities include monitoring the ongoing operation in offshore/onshore locations, working with clients for upcoming jobs, tailoring engineering solutions, managing resource requirements for job execution, and managing overall whole projects to be executed in a timely manner. This sounds like an extensive and heavy tasks, and it certainly is. The challenges are not poor signal, bad weather, or being in limited space like when i was working offshore but the feeling that my whole time is spent working was the hardest part. I never felt calmed, or relaxed whenever i travelled. There was a high chance my phone rang, even when i was in the cinema with my friends, or on the table with my family. However, I needed to be stay composed and ready to give a solution to the problem no matter how disturbing I felt it was. Well when things feel very unpleasant, I would l always remember what motivated me to start. First and foremost, to build financial security for myself and my family. Also, completing each task one by one and successfully completing them made me feel fulfilled, and satisfied.

In 2019, the company offered me overseas work for the first time. The country is Vietnam. it’s close to my country, Indonesia. The characteristics of the country are very different from those of Indonesia. Vietnam is a socialist republic country in contrast to Indonesia which has a democratic system. 73,7% of Vietnam’s population has no religion, while Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Those things made me worry. How could i survive? How could i make friends? If I don’t enjoy living in Vietnam, how can I fulfill my job responsibility? I realized it was normal to feel afraid of moving overseas. However, this was a precious opportunity to have international experience, so it would be unfortunate if I missed it. I decided to take the offer. I lived in Ho Chi Minh City and worked for a number of customers there. Culture barrier is the main challenge especially when it came to communication. My team members came from different multinational backgrounds. I doubted myself because I was worried i was not gonna be able to communicate effectively. I really felt the wall between me and my team, may be because I am a female engineer wearing a hijab. In vietnam, muslim population is really minor, therefore when i worked there many of colleagues were curious about Islam. Although I do not consider myself to have enough knowledge of Islam (I always see myself as a female muslim who is still learning), I tried to answer their questions as best as I could. The thing that I found is that, is that people from other countries (mostly from non-muslim countries) are reluctant to strike conversation with me because of the stereotype they think its true, which hijab is barrier to be more outgoing or social. I believe it because they have never been exposed to a muslim environment, or because they have never had muslim friends before. Therefore, it makes me realize that I need to be proactive in communicating with my team, I need to approach them and show them that I can be social and able to collaborate as  well. It was such an memorable experience and I am grateful to be given precious opportunity by the company. I also want to say another gratitude message being able to work with my valuable colleague. He’s from Thailand and he never stopped supporting me dealing with work situations in Vietnam. Working in Vietnam is temporary assignment. Back in 2020 I was back to Jakarta Indonesia, worked as Desk engineer/Project Lead.

Overall, I find working in an oil and gas service company in my 20s to be a very valuable experience. I was trained to be resilient in facing tough situations, to be effective in communication, to be agile in swift tasks especially when managing multi-customers, to be intuitive when identifying potential problems during project management and to be empathetic when working with people. The journey had its challenges, especially when I went through a quarter-life crisis. Being in my 20s led me to question many things in my life and identifying the true identity of myself. With all the crisis that I had, working and managing a high workload wasn’t easy for me. I feel thankful for my support system, my family and friends who always encourage me when I am down. They always motivate me to move on and thrive.

After extensive years working in the Oil and Gas Industry, I decided to pursue a different career trajectory in the renewable energy sector. What a risky path of life to move out from comfort zone if it’s seen from a pragmatic perspective. My heart/intuition, on the other hand, says in the opposite direction. I feel like I have been called to switch careers to renewable energy, since it will be a major part of the future and I feel it aligns with my morale compass as well. In feb 2023, I am back to school pursuing master degree in Geothermal. I am really excited about the journey because i can start fresh, learn new things and meet new people which i will tell the story later…