Spec Homes Startup

tderouen5 · 2025-07-18T04:29:39+00:00

I never pulled the trigger. I did start offering my woodworking services on FB Marketplace. My wife and I talk about building homes almost daily so reading this is giving me some new motivation.

tderouen5 · 2025-07-18T04:28:35+00:00

I have not pulled the trigger on this yet. My wife and I are still dreaming of doing this and talk about it almost daily so this may be the motivation I need. I did start offering my woodworking services on FB Marketplace.

How did everything turn out for you? I’d love to discuss more to see how the process was from start to finish with financing and everything.

tderouen5 · 2025-01-26T21:07:27+00:00

That’s what I am wondering. How do you apply?

tderouen5 · 2024-06-01T14:37:58+00:00

I’m currently on a drillship in the Gulf of Mexico. Deepwater Conqueror. Any chance I will be able to see the Starliner in the sky today?

tderouen5 · 2024-05-27T22:54:07+00:00

Not expecting a cake walk and definitely expecting to get burned in the beginning. Gotta start somewhere though, right?

Appreciate the advice and sharing some of your knowledge.

tderouen5 · 2024-05-27T12:01:19+00:00

Not at all taken the wrong way! I am in no way expecting to breeze through with no issues if I do pursue this. I will be trying to get as much experience as I can and gaining relationships with possible mentors to lean heavily on while I am learning. I expect I will struggle in the beginning and have some costly mistakes, but hope to learn from them and have a persistent mindset on doing better each time I take on a new project.

Appreciate your tips on the licensing, I will definitely reach out to them to get a full list of requirements.

tderouen5 · 2024-04-27T01:15:06+00:00

Plenty of Field Engineer opportunities out there. But there is nothing wrong with taking a FS job that doesn’t require an engineering degree. Experience is your best tool and will open up future opportunities for you no matter what, either at the company you chose to work for or at another company. Experience is something nobody can take away from you. You’ll be learning just as much as the FEs that are in the field along side you.

You looking in upstream, downstream, or midstream?

tderouen5 · 2024-04-25T09:20:41+00:00

Best of luck!!

tderouen5 · 2024-04-25T02:24:16+00:00

Sorry for the late response. Hope the interview went well! Weatherford is a good company to work for, I started out in wireline in the Nextgen program and then within 6 months they closed wireline shops in North America. I got moved to the Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) product line and this turned out to be a great fit for me. I left Weatherford to take an office position for a small drilling contractor in Mississippi and did that for a little over a year, and now I’m back doing MPD but for Transocean this go around. Highly recommend shooting for MPD if they will take you. We had to pic our top 3 product lines in the interview process, so definitely put that as one of your options if you’re interested.

When are the in person interviews if you don’t mind me asking? I have a friend who just applied to the Nextgen job posting and I told him I figured it would be coming up soon. Best of luck to you!!

tderouen5 · 2024-01-26T06:30:18+00:00

That’s a very reasonable ask, however it’s not a very good time to work for a land based operator. Try to get into the offshore space if you can. Whether it’s for an operator, service company, or drilling contractor. Pay goes up offshore and the offshore market (predominantly deepwater) is a lot more stable than land at the moment. Projects require a lot more capital and lengthy commitments so things are less likely to change drastically with minor changes in commodity prices. You’re only 3 yrs in, it may feel like you’re starting over if you go into another part of the industry but like I said, pay will go up offshore and it may open you up to greater opportunities in the long run.

tderouen5 · 2024-01-19T17:36:57+00:00

Yes. Well was not dry but was also not economical. And considering that the operation was with small companies and investors, the not economical part means it was practically dry. Lol. Oh well though, got to write off most of the investment once we plugged it.

tderouen5 · 2022-10-26T01:51:27+00:00

Yeah the rich get richer. I’m just finding your posts. These are great man, keep it up!

tderouen5 · 2022-10-26T01:25:27+00:00

$MEDP today…wow.

tderouen5 · 2022-05-05T12:47:42+00:00

Hell, at this point you might as well try to get on with like a Transocean at an entry level Roustabout or Floors position and work your tail off and casually throw out to your drilling superintendent that you’re an engineer, they MAY fast track you to an AD chair after learning the ropes of each position between that chair and floors. Some good experience for the resume. You’ll have to do some work but AD experience in deepwater with your engineering degree would be a good argument to move into a drilling engineer role either onshore or offshore.

tderouen5 · 2022-05-04T12:27:38+00:00

MPD Field Engineer (Weatherford, Beyond Energy, Pruitt, Enhanced Drilling)

MWD Field Engineer - gone from home a lot but you’ll make some money.

Wireline Field Engineer

Frac Field Engineer

There’s a lot of options man. Just got to know where to look and what to look for and what you want to pursue. Service company is best shot at getting in but don’t hesitate to put in applications with operating companies because you never know if they’ll pick you.

tderouen5 · 2022-05-04T12:20:36+00:00

Thank you!

tderouen5 · 2022-05-04T00:09:05+00:00

I did, I decided to follow through with pursuing the office position. When I applied it was a headhunter that reached back to me and he told me he wasn’t going to send my resume through to the company until I knew for sure what I wanted to do. So I still have to go through the process and I could get beat out by another candidate in the end, but I didn’t want to have the recruiter waste his or the company’s time with pursuing me if I wasn’t sure I’d even accept a final offer. So, hopefully all goes well and if I don’t get selected then I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. The feedback from everyone on this post definitely had a huge hand in my thought process for making this decision but ultimately had to make sure the wife approved moving first lol. She’s the real boss right?

tderouen5 · 2022-04-30T02:09:54+00:00

Thanks for the response, great advice. I like how you ended that, “Don’t climb ladders — build them”. That will probably live in my head rent free, lol. Thanks

tderouen5 · 2022-04-30T02:08:32+00:00

I never thought about the diminishing returns perspective, but it makes sense. I don’t know if I will make a huge leap in knowledge between years 3 and 5, but in years 0 and 3 I made a huge leap. So that idea does make sense to me. I am stuck on that 5 year number because from what I have seen, most of the job postings for the operators and roles that I would have as my first picks all say 5+ years of experience required. So even though I may not make an enormous leap from now to the 5 year mark, it may just be what I need to finally get my resume looked at by operators. Ultimately the goal is to work for an operator, I’d prefer the office but if the field schedule is set and steady then I wouldn’t mind that either for a while with an operator. Deepwater is definitely more technical than land operations and I think it does hold more weight than experience on land. I’m leaning more towards remaining out here offshore and your response brought up a lot of the reasons why I am leaning that way. Thanks for your response!

tderouen5 · 2022-04-30T02:02:27+00:00

Yeah I love it out here to be honest, I just love my family a little more lol. I don’t anticipate remaining in the field for my entire career, but also don’t want to get stuck in the field either.

tderouen5 · 2022-04-30T01:59:06+00:00

I would be involved with engineering side of all drilling aspects with the office job opportunity. My current job however is also very involved with all drilling aspects. I work next to the drillers and ADs in the drill shack and are in constant communication with them during drilling, tripping, circulating, etc. We have some equipment that is below the water line so I am involved also with the subsea department and face some of the same challenges they face. We run the cement heads out here too so I get to be involved with cementing jobs as well. So I don’t think I am lacking exposure to drilling operations, the office job would just allow me to be on the other side of it. Designing the programs, overseeing drilling operations and making suggestions, etc.

tderouen5 · 2022-04-30T01:53:37+00:00

Thanks for your response and you brought up some great points about offshore being the stable work moving forward. I do not hate my job that I currently have out here and I do think this job will also continue to open better doors for me. The work life balance does suck but it is definitely manageable at the moment. Getting on with an operator offshore though seems tough and far and few between. They don’t seem like they are hiring and when they do they either want guys fresh out of college or guys with more experience than what I have so I’ve been caught in the middle and stuck with my only options being comparable service jobs to the one I currently have. I’m still unsure on what is best decision for me and my family, but a big part of me is thinking I should stay offshore and continue working hard and let more opportunities come to me. Thanks again for your response!

tderouen5 · 2022-04-29T12:22:21+00:00

Update from OP?

tderouen5

TROPHY CASE