Need Help Choosing Between Offers II - Oil & Gas only

congrats on the offers!

That looks like an even match. It's money vs benefits. I'd go with the benefits, myself. The 3 weeks vacation would be a big deal to me. And you will appreciate that if you start going to night school getting an MBA.

I'm going to say you might be over-thinking this part. Don't let that assumption get into your decision-making.

 

What is BHP's commitment to their US operations? Is there risk of them pulling up stakes and returning to Australia? Could another competitor buy up their US operations drastically reduce the SG&A (people) in BHP's US arm? Chevron has no risk in that regard.

Chevron might have slightly better name recognition and the bigger company could provide you more opportunities to establish yourself and your accomplishments prior to b-school.

I wouldn't worry about the bonus % pre-MBA. You'll make far more money post MBA to where your pre-MBA compensation won't matter much in the long run.

I'd go with Chevron, based upon what you've laid out there.

 

Super majors are so big and competitive you could feel insignificant or immobile after a few years, but MBA costs could go to the freaking moon overnight, so I think I'd go with Chevron.

 

One thing to consider is that Chevron may or may not pay 75%...it all depends on the manager/department, the economy, and how much they want to invest in you. I know people at Chevron that had to turn down their first choice MBA because Chevron did not cover the 75% as advertised initially. That being said, one of my cohorts at Rice is getting 75% reimbursement so again it just depends on the circumstances.

 

My wife is at BHP, they bought out her previous employer last year, and she likes it so far...waiting to see how the bonuses are at year end, but should be good.

 

This.

 

What's the position name? I turned down an offer from Chevron a year ago, in a similar position. Here's a few things I noted:

The growth opportunities there aren't great, even though the benefits are some of the best you'll find. They're really conservative so decisions come really slow and as a result its much harder to shine. There's a finance rotational program they have but its highly selective, and given to older candidates instead of young.

Also for vacation, Chevron goes up by a week until your 5th year I think, where it tops out at 6, which is sick. And the MBA options in Houston aren't that great, besides Rice, which they offer to some people and not others. So you should find out more about that.

Are both positions in the same process line? Downstream is where you want to be with oil and gas, and at Chevron that's where all the money is.

Like someone else said, Chevron has the name. But if you want growth, which I did, its not the company to be at.

 

Upstream is were the money is.

 

bonuses get taxed up the ass.

Never done any projects at BHP but I've enjoyed my time at Chevron. I agree with most here and say Chev is the way to go.

Either way best of luck.

 

i worked at chevron last summer. interviewed at bhp. bad experiences at both

i work in commercial credit, my last job of three years was with a company like reliant. i worked for the natural gas/electricity unregulated marketing company for integrys energy group. i was always contract because halfway through my tenure they decided to downsize and they don't do commercial trading anymore.

i got a job at chevron a straight project, they were implementing a new trading platform and the program wasn't connecting to SAP. i was manually transferring info from SAP to the new program, energy credit. i sat on the eleventh floor of 1500 Louisiana. I worked with the credit team supporting oil traders. the eleventh floor is the trading floor.

first problem, i worked with kim a black chick who hadn't worked in two years, her last job was contract at chevron in the med center somewhere. it took her a week to get over the fact her and i weren't getting every other friday off, they work 9-80s.

second problem, it took a week and a half to get the right programs. it has to go through, IT (in india), then it has to go through security.

third and most importantly, very unfriendly co-workers. i was clearing out invoices for the oil tanker fuel team. none of the regulars wanted to help us find where to get info. they acted like we were a nuisance. it is the least friendly place i worked.

summary, the first week we got up and running i did me and kim's work because she was so upset of not getting 9-80s. there was a lot of confusion on how we should go about the project so there was a lot of down time. the regulars were upset when i sent my resume to their manager and she asked me to send her a write up on a counterparty.

i was let go one day, the staffing agency said i made people uncomfortable because i would walk around and stare at people's monitors. i would get up and walk around because i have diabetes and i have a resulting condition called neuropathy in which my nerves start acting up and i get pains through my body when sitting a long time. i never told anyone because no one ever talked to me. they were insecure assholes.

bhp

i interviewed there two months ago for a credit position supporting their oil trading desk. my first job out of college i worked for a bank that catered to small businesses. i told the manager, a black chick, i know i remember from high school (i'm black, she's very attractive), that my small business background is sometimes a problem. i say its harder to evaluate small businesses because there is less info.

that interview was on a friday, i called the staffing agency monday to say i really wanted the job and they told me that bhp didn't want to hire me because of my small business background. i worked three years at a publicly traded company dealing with investment bank counterparties. australians are assholes, i learned from dealing with mcguarie cook an investment bank over there.

 

Are you sure BHP's 20% is greater than Chevron's 7%? Based on what you've provided, I would say Chevron. Whatever you think will keep you happy though...

 

They do that because they don't know what your year end tax rate will be. If it's lower than what they taxed at, you will get it back in a refund. It's not like the money just gets taken.

 

I think that's a big concern too. I've heard of many companies touting that they pay for MBAs, etc, but they actually have a cap of how many people can go each year. So you might get put in a wait list and not be able to go to MBA school for 5 years. Something to consider.

If they're willing to let you go to Rice ($44k tuition) or UT ($60k tuition) then Chevron would win out because they're paying for so much of it. If they make you go to a cheaper school then the bonus difference would bring the two closer.

 

I'm at BofA now, so I turned it down for a different industry altogether.

There's other good schools in Texas, but if you're gonna do your MBA through Chevron, it's going to be an executive MBA, so you would have to go to a school in Houston right?

I heard downstream has the money from a Chevron finance guy doing his exec MBA at Rice. He was pretty high up. But I could be wrong.

When I was deciding to accept, I got in contact with a few of the people who worked there in similar roles as me. They gave me real honest answers. You might want to try that, as no one here has had direct experience in your role.