The Pros and Cons of Oil Refinery Jobs

Many people think that working at an oil refinery requires a lot of back breaking work that doesn’t pay a lot of money and renders you tired and exhausted. However, oil refinery jobs can actually pay a lot – especially if you work for a big refinery – and they can have a lot of benefits.

Pros and Cons of Oil Refinery

Like any job, oil refineries may have a few disadvantages, but nothing that the advantages can’t level out. Not only that, but just because you work at an oil refinery, it doesn’t mean that you have to drill for oil all day. Indeed, if you become an accountant or an administrator at an oil refinery, you may actually wear a suit to work. Here are some of the pros and cons of oil refinery jobs.

Pros and Cons of Working in the Oil Refinery

One of the biggest pros is that you get lots of benefits. Oil refineries – if you are doing more manual labor – can have its risks. Oil drilling equipment can be heavy and the oil inside the wells can be toxic, especially if you breathe in the fumes. This is the reason why oil refinery jobs offer handsome benefit packages, like medical, dental and life insurance. If you are a family man or woman, oil refinery jobs can be a great way to make a living.

A big con, however, is that working at an oil refinery could mean working extremely long hours. In some cases, oil refinery workers must be on the job for multiple days, because drilling for oil is a full time job. Not only that, but oil refineries require workers to mind wells and complete work to meet a certain demand, which can’t be met if the day is cut short. If you are a contract worker, this may mean that you don’t get to see a lot of your family as much as you’d like.

A big pro, though, of working at an oil refinery is that you can make a decent annual salary. Oftentimes, oil refinery workers make between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. This is enough money to provide for your family and live modestly. In most cases, the fact that you have to work long hours is justified by the salary. Oil refinery workers are fine working long hours – as long as it takes care of their families. If you work in a more administrative position, you could make more money.

Lastly, another con to working an oil refinery job is that you breathe in a lot of toxic fumes. Oil is rich with different chemicals that come from the earth’s core. When the oil is refined, it can release a pretty dangerous smell. This is why it is critical to wear some kind of mask when you work at an oil refinery. Without a mask, you could risk developing a whole host of problems – from pulmonary disease to heart attack. Yet, many oil refineries have safety standards in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening. At the end of the day, working at an oil refinery can be a challenge, but also really fun.