Career Development Essentials for Young E&P Technical Professionals

This paper discusses career development essentials for young E&P technical professionals to realize and use for career planning. By dividing the professional life of the E&P professional into the early-career, mid-career and late-career stages, each spanning about twelve years, the author discusses career development essentials and their benefits in each stage. In the early-career stage, essentials include understanding the corporate culture, developing technical depth and breadth and developing good interpersonal team skills. In the mid-career stage, essentials include developing leadership skills, moving out of one's comfort zone, mastering cross discipline competency and developing a strong professional network. In the late-career stage, essential include anticipating future trends, leveraging one's strength and experience, developing others and leaving a legacy.