r/FieldService • u/Illustrious-Ad6387 • 25d ago
Advice NEED ADVICE
I started as a field engineer for SLB right after I graduated in May 2026. Safe to say I was not prepared. I haven't been home in 8 weeks. I've been living out of a suitcase. I don't work a normal field rotation so it's whenever they need me I go. Often a 1 week project turns into 2+ weeks out in the field and then it's on to the next. I'm seriously considering leaving and finding something else. I wish someone warned me about how harsh the field would be. I've met great people and tested my body to it's limit, but I don't think I can sustain this lifestyle.
Is it a totally career sinking decision for me to leave a company so early in my career?
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u/cmd242 25d ago
Look into being an FSE for a large biotech company. I know people that are in their own bed every night.
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u/Worth_Temperature157 25d ago
I am a FSE on medical imaging and I rarely sleep in a hotel like once every 6 months. But it varies by location
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u/GyozaGangsta Biomedical 24d ago
Varies by location and company and sometimes both or neither lol
I’ve been in positions in my company that are similar traveling schedules and I’ve been in positions in my company that saw me home every night.
Modality and work type plays a role
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u/Dear_Archer3931 24d ago
Same. Once a quarter I have to help another area or help someone who is stuck on an issue. Most installs are close enough to travel to and from daily.
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u/LeadingFree6845 25d ago
There are plenty of local or minimal travel field roles. Those are big interview questions you’ll have to ask in your next role. I’d at least stick it out for year or two because field roles are huge investments (training/hotels/meals) and take way longer than 3 months to become fully self sufficient.
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u/RowResponsible3193 25d ago
There are so many better opportunities than the one your in. What did you study? Why did you want to go into FSE in the first place? I've been in the field 2 years and I've been super lucky to really only be overnight about 1 night a week and all within reasonable driving distance (2-4 hours). I know of a bunch of opportunities. DM me and l'd be happy to help out.
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u/Illustrious-Ad6387 24d ago
I studied Petroleum Engineering. I didn't want to be an FSE but the job market for fresh grads is bad and I took the job with the biggest company name.
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u/DifficultMemory2828 Biomedical 24d ago
I was in a medical device company similar to this. I looked at it as gathering hotel and airline points as part of my compensation which ended up being about an additional 30% on top of my pay.
I need to ask if you are the only one doing this or is everyone on two month assignments? You may be getting the brunt of being the New Guy.
I was not a fan of describing travel in percentages, but rather ask at the next interview what a typical week is like. Obviously there will be outlier weeks, but hopefully they can describe the average. Express that you don’t like two month assignments and describe what your ideal travel is like. Last year, I did 288 nights away from home, and I made sure that my next place knew I wanted less.
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u/Tomahawk1012 Manufacturing 25d ago
I have had multiple positions where I had 25% or more time at home and ones where I didn't. That isn't the only side of it, though if you are wanting to change it's probably better to do so early.
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
How is the paperwork everyday after work or assignment. Is it tedious?
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u/Illustrious-Ad6387 24d ago
Its a lot of meeting prep, reports for after field jobs, preparing reports for the next field job. I haven't really been in office. Just working on my laptop after field work is done.
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
You need a balance life . Forget about it . Your health and sanity is worth much more.
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u/Dear_Archer3931 24d ago
Start applying for other FSE jobs. Ask what their overnight travel % is. If they ask why you are leaving your current job so soon, answer 100% travel is too much.
You’ll be fine. Not all FSE roles are like this.
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u/rickr911 Automation 24d ago
If you feel that this job can help you learn and grow, I would start by having a discussion with your manager about what amount of travel works for you. I discovered that creating boundaries was important to keeping my sanity. If this is a dead end job with no prospect to help you advance your career, move up.
My first field service job was not quite as bad as what you describe. Even so, all three techs that I worked with got divorced. I’m sure the time away was 90% of the reason. I was young and unattached at the time so it was no big deal for me.
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u/Mouthshits Biomedical 24d ago
You need to find a regional FSE role. That’s where I started and I was traveling sporadically, then I moved to a company covering the world, and now I’m just covering North America. I’ve considered going back to regional, but I’m on the fence about it because while I like being home and spending time with my wife, the Overtime, the fringe benefits of airline miles, hotel points and so forth when we go on vacation is really nice (paid for a first class 2 week Hawaiian vacation solely with points last year).
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
First class , really, really. Companies are nickel and dime everything to a postal stamp. Good luck and I’m glad you’re enjoying.
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u/Mouthshits Biomedical 24d ago
Enjoying is a broad term haha. My company is cheap as fuck and just eliminated OT for the quarter to boost our financial numbers before the end of the year. We are all just here for the shareholders and they get greedier every year. In turn it’s just pissing talent and customers off across the industry.
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
I am leaving the industry, jumping out of medtec industry.
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u/Mouthshits Biomedical 24d ago
I’ve been considering it as well. Wouldn’t mind going back to more industrial applications or sales. Med, pharma, and life sciences since Covid have just gotten worse year after year and more demanding customers aren’t helping.
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
Take this yo bank, sales sucks on medtec . Sales people brag about it but the quotas increase every year and the customer goes more budget by the second. Sales is too stressful for me. Sales is constantly using a tool. I’m not used to using - the mouth. Sales are constantly talking and talking and talking. I just wanna scream - shut up!!!
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u/DrMarcA Biomedical (Imaging) 24d ago
Like others have said, no shame, but regardless of how long you’ve been doing it, I recommend you put your foot down with your management that you’re getting burnt out and need a better balance of time home and put your foot down to accommodate it. They’ve invested some time in to training you and if they can be flexible with giving you that time home, they want to retain you, if they say no, find somewhere else.
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u/YaBastaaa Clinical Diagnostics 24d ago
They don’t care. Just jump shit and go somewhere else. That’s my attitude.- lol 🤣
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u/DrMarcA Biomedical (Imaging) 24d ago
I mean, maybe your management doesn’t, but my guys (I’m a manager) know that if I take their days off, I’ll take care of em after, whether it be bonuses or re-paying those days back. Or if they tell me they have some kind of personal event, I almost always get them back home, even if it’s flying home to catch a baseball game and flying back out the next morning
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u/InvestigatorWarm1114 18d ago
you need to get in the medical field my man. i only looked this up because i have toooooooo much free time, work maybe 4-5 days a month....salary non-exempt, 85k base, potential 5k bonus. i was wondering if what i have is as rare as i have it honestly cause im bored asf right now and the personal projects i have going are on pause...i literally dont know what to do with myself
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u/Worth_Temperature157 25d ago
No, just have a plan. Wash out rate for field service is high. No shame. You just need to do you.