ALICE HURLEY
DATA MANAGER / COMPUTER CONSULTANT
Alice has managed to maintain her geophysical management career while following her husband round the world.
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL
AGE: 42
STATUS: Married
CHILDREN: Three
COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE: I was born in Southend on Sea, England and have been on the move since 1979 with seven years in Glasgow, four in Houston, Texas, one in Oslo, Norway and in Stavanger until mid 1997. Back in England since then. NUMBER OF MOBILE YEARS: 18
WORK
ORIGINAL CAREER: Data analyst, largely geophysical for oil companies.
CURRENT EARNING POTENTIAL: Up to US$100,000 per annum in the USA (for a job that involves travel and flexibility), or between US$25 and US$50 per hour. Twice that hourly rate on a consultancy basis. Less outside the USA. Such work could be charged out to the client at two or three times that amount.
BRIEF EMPLOYMENT DETAILS ABROAD: I have continued to work with the same company for last ten years despite constant upheaval due to my husband's postings.
CAREER PATH
FURTHER EDUCATION: A levels
HIGHER EDUCATION: BSc in Physics with Geophysics followed by MSc in Computer Mapping.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY JOANNA PARFITT
JP: You appear to have been remarkably fortunate with your career despite a life on the move. Is this a fair comment?AH: I have been fortunate, yes, but I made a conscious decision to leave work with Britoil more than ten years ago, specifically to work for an oil field services company. I worked for Scicon, who later became part of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and, indeed this has enabled me to find work relatively easily in each of the countries. Right at the beginning, when my husband, Leon, said we were off to Houston, I went to speak to my boss to hand in my notice and ask after possibilities in the States. It was amazing, but they had just decided to open an office in Houston itself. I was involved in the project from the very beginning.
JP: So, in this case your boss was pleased you were handing in your notice?
AH: Yes. In fact these constant moves have often worked to my advantage. By the time we left Houston I was managing the office and it was quite an upheaval to go to Norway where Electronic Data Systems had no office. But before very long I had been asked to work as a planning consultant for them at Den Norske Bank and later as an Account Manager. In Stavanger I was outsourced to BP by EDS and run the data management side of things.
JP: So all these opportunites just fell into your lap?
AH: It was never as easy as that. I have always maintained all my contacts and networked like crazy. In fact the only reason I found the job in BP was because I had met up with an old friend who mentioned there was a rumour that EDS were putting together a proposal with BP in Stavanger. I made sure I was at the first meeting. In fact, as my old company Britoil, were bought by BP, I had a hunch that I would know someone at that meeting. Not only did I know three people round that table, but one of them later showed me a photograph in his office of his team from 20 years earlier. I was in that photograph.
JP: There is a message there about leaving every job on good terms, as you may never know when you may need them again.
AH: I actually joined EDS specifically because I knew they had an 'eligible for rehire' policy. If I left a position on good terms this would be added to my personnel file. Rehire is easier, but by no means automatic.
JP: Are you at a disadvantage, not being a fluent Norwegian speaker?
AH: At Den Norske Bank, I was so frustrated when people would talk to me in English and then chat to each other in Norwegian that I went back to school for a year. In fact I did an intensive accounting course in Norwegian at the same time and have found both skills immensely useful.
JP: There have obviously been periods of time when work has not been there for you with EDS. What have you done with these periods?
AH: I have to achieve something, even if it is not paid employment, so I stay busy. I like to maintain good desktop computing skills, keep my computing skills up to date and learn all the currently popular applications, such as Word and Excel. Last time there was a gap in my career I asked tentatively whether anyone was interested in a basic computer skills course and suddenly had six pupils to cope with. I also took the voluntary position of Job Researcher with the Schlumberger Spouses Association in Stavanger, and became further involved with the production of a Job Booklet. This was produced by another voluntary group here called Stavanger Partners Information Network (SPIN). My involvement here allowed me to find out all about the possibility of finding work here, so even if EDS hadn't come up trumps I would have undoubtedly found something. In fact I had to choose between this job and another one, with a different oil company, as it was.
JP: So the job research position allowed you to operate in a professional environment even though you were not paid for it?
AH: I need to be around other people who want to work. Being around people who either do not want to work or have given up can be so demotivating. In fact it is common knowledge that anyone who takes on the job research position soo finds their own job. I really enjoy the consultancy aspects of the work too, the research and then presentation of data.
JP: Has it been a conscious decision for you to exploit your skills, and move into other areas, away from your specialism of geophysics?
AH: It has been incidental, really. But many of my skills are thoroughly portable despite my usual success in oil field services. I have worked as a planning consultant, can manage people and projects, enjoy troubleshooting and teaching. I try not to have tunnel vision and to remain flexible. I also have no fear of jumping in at the deep end.
JP: How have you managed to combine a career and motherhood?
AH: I have always believed that I need to work professionally in order to maintain balance in my own life. Fortunately Leon is totally supportive in my career. I decided a long time ago that I would pay for only the best child care. When I have had a nanny or child minder, she has come to the home to work. I pay for a cleaner and try to ensure that the girls get the best of me when I am home. Working in Houston took me abroad a lot. I was managing projects in Greece, Holland, Germany and the Southbank. I find the work environment stimulating. My attitude is that when I am at work I work, when I'm not I'm with the family. Much of our socialising is done as a family too.
JP: Did you take maternity leave when you had the children?
AH: I have been away from the workplace for more than two years in total, yes.
JP: Life on the move seems to suit you. Do you have any regrets?
AH: Only that we didn't leave England sooner. I see my life as a string of opportunities. Leon and I are quite passive really, we just wait for the opportunities to come our way and then we take them. We aren't particularly pro-active. But, I must say that moving has been exciting. Often, I have found that moving on has given me the chance to leave behind aspects of my current work that have frustrated or bored me. In fact every time we have moved it has done me a favour.
JP: After 18 years you must have missed home?
AH: Not at all. We believe that home is where we are. We never talk of 'going home'.
JP: How has being a woman affected your career?
AH: It is a man's world in the oil business and can be very chaauvinistic. It is tough being in an expatriate environment and having a career too, for it tends to be taken for granted that expatriate wives do not have careers. Being a woman is hard, being a woman with a career is even harder, having a career and children is really tough, but having all these and moving around is sheer madness! I love it.
JP: You have just admitted that you must be mad, so why do you do it?
AH: Because it is so rewarding. Stavanger had to be the best working enviroment I have ever encountered. I was treated well and I just love the outdoor life at the weekend. Even when it has been really tough it has been worth it. At one point I was working full-time, six months pregnant, Leon and I were both away an awful lot and only met in airports every few months. But now people call me up from all over the world. Regularly. My network is expanding all the time. But what is even more rewarding is that my network is not the same as Leon's.
JP: What does the future hold for you?
AH: I'll just keep on taking those opportunities. I am just about to be employed by EDS again, in the London area this time.
JP: You seem to enjoy life on the move. Where do you hope to settle?
AH: In a remote beach house on an Atlantic type coast. Somewhere I can swim every day and go for long walks. Woody Allen films spring to mind.
JP: Do you have one final piece of advice to share with us?
AH: Don't assume that your moving can be perceived as a disaster. It can be an opportunity.
Contact Jo Parfitt: Generaal Spoorlaan 24, 2252 TA, Voorschoten, Netherlands - Tel: +31 (0)71 561 6857 - www.expatrollercoaster.com