ELS KUILMAN
GEOLOGIST / CONFERENCE ORGANISER
Els has found a career that has evolved with the changes effected by their four yearly postings.
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL
AGE: 36
STATUS: Married
CHILDREN: Two
COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE: I was born in The Netherlands and have been on the move since 1989 with four years in Nigeria and four in the Sultanate of Oman. We moved to Oslo, Norway in December 1997.
NUMBER OF MOBILE YEARS: 8
WORK
ORIGINAL CAREER: Geologist, Mud Logging Computer Manager
CURRENT EARNING POTENTIAL: Minimum £20,000 per annum for the most lowly position. Consultancy fees are determined by me according to the job.
BRIEF EMPLOYMENT DETAILS ABROAD: After being forced to abandon hard rock geology in Nigeria owing to lack of work I started working in the oil industry. I work as a lecturer and conference organiser, as a representative for a hydrological firm and as a tour organiser.
CAREER PATH
HIGHER EDUCATION: MSc in Hard Rock Geology (mineralogy, ore geology, petrology and gemology)
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY JOANNA PARFITT
JP: You seem to have tilted your hat regularly and successfully. How does this make you feel?EK: I suppose the fact that my husband, Luppo, was working for Shell had a lot to do with my choices. I moved towards the oil industry because I was following him and that was his career. Funnily enough I did everything I could to avoid ending up in the oil industry, by carefully choosing my subjects at university. But here I am and I enjoy it very much.
JP: Why do you enjoy the oil industry after all?
EK: It is fast, exciting and involves big money. It makes you feel that whatever you do is of importance, however small.
JP: Was it the fact that Luppo was working for a large oil company that most helped you to find related work?
EK: Partly. But I think the fact that I was determined to work in Nigeria, as there was little else to do, coupled with the fact that I was already a geologist that helped most.
JP: Would you advise other people, destined for a life on the move with an oil company employed spouse, to study geology or geophysics?
EK: Only if they enjoy the subject of course. But it is often easier to find work in those locations, and to obtain a work permit, if that is your specialism. Many popular oil-based locations have plenty of qualified people to work as nurses, teachers or secretaries there already. An expatriate geologist or geophysicist has much more chance of finding a well-paid, interesting job in such places. Though I happen to know that Egypt is an exception to this rule.
JP: So we seem to have hit on a career for a spouse that does not force you to compromise where salary is concerned?
EK: Hardly! In Nigeria they would only pay me the same rate that I paid my maid! It depends on whether you are locally or internationally employed. If you are locally employed, and companies take advantage of you if they know your husband is there on international, married status, then you are not likely to be well paid. However, in many countries you will at least have the potential to earn as much, if not more than other spouses in local employment.
JP: Would you have chosen geology as your career if you had known you would be moving round the world?
EK: Yes I think so. However, I might have thought about a career that could be based at home rather than in an office. It would have been nice to work more flexible hours when the children were small. Writing or translating appeals to me. In fact I am working towards being a French translator now.
JP: You talk about inflexibility in your career. Have you found much part-time, contract or temporary work?
EK: Not so much part-time, I'm afraid, but a reasonable amount of contract work, particularly with contractors working on special projects.
JP: So how do you tie in your work with being a mother now?
EK: It is hard to work in regular geology, which is why I have taken up conference organising, acting as a local representative for a hydrology company and as a tour guide.
JP: So how did that come about?
EK: I was not actively looking for work, but an old friend was organising a conference in Holland and she asked me to do one in Oman. The tour guide work came through a contact and I used to work for the company back in Holland for whom I now work as a local representative.
JP: Tell me more about the conference organising.
EK: I have to organise the venue, present several of the seminars and act as a focal point for the visiting Dutch delegates.
JP: . . . And the representing?
EK: I act on behalf of the hydrology company. I keep an eye out for tenders that are being invited, submit proposals and do any negotiating prior to the company being hired, if indeed, they do. It saves them sending someone over from Holland each time.
JP: . . . And the guiding?
EK: I thought it might be fun to take Dutch visitors on geological study trips in Oman, after all it is heaven for geologists here. My friend in Holland organises the trips and I just look after the visitors when they arrive.
JP: So what happens to the children when you are out at work?
EK: I have a maid, as so many expatriates do in Oman. You take it for granted really.
JP: Tell me more about your work in Nigeria.
EK: I was employed to train local staff to qualify first as mud loggers and then as total drilling controllers. Later I selected and tested applicants for jobs in this field and worked in computer management.
JP: How easy has it really been to work in each location?
EK: Even in Holland it is hard to find work as there is no geology there. In Nigeria it was easy to work but difficult to get a work permit. In fact I worked illegally. In Oman you need to find a local sponsor in order to work, which is a bit of a headache. I got round that one by working for a Dutch company who paid me in Holland. There's often a way round these things, I find.
JP: Is it unusual to find women working in this field?
EK: Yes it is, but I had no idea at the time I chose it. I liked nature and travelling and science (mathematics) and I thought geology offered a good combination of these. I was very interested in working abroad.
JP: But life has only taken you to Nigeria and Oman so far. Surely that has not satisfied your travel bug?
EK: Working abroad on international status has given us enough time off, money and travel allowances to visit many countries. I decided long ago that I would have visited as many countries as years I had lived. So far, at 36, I am up-to-date.
JP: How far removed is the work you are doing now from the work you were doing in Holland?
EK: Very different. I was in the metal department of a technical university and did micro-analyses. I think you could say it was the most boring job imaginable.
JP: All in all, then you are happy with the way your life has progressed?
EK: Yes, very. But I do hate having to start again in every new location. It is hard to build up enthusiasm for each new posting when you know it will only be for a few years. I had always dreamed of working and living abroad, but had not expected to do so as a dependent with a big company. Still, you can't have everything!
JP: What do you consider to be the advantages of being mobile?
EK: If you don't like what you are doing, where you are, or if you can't get a job where you are, you also know that it won't last and you'll have another chance in another country. I also think that it has been easier for me to take time off to have children, and then find work again, than it would have been in Holland.
JP: Which, of all these jobs, has made you happiest?
EK: Conference organising.
JP: What was your greatest moment?
EK: Finding a job in Nigeria when everyone had said it was impossible. I was, at the time, the only expatriate wife in full-time employment.
JP: Do you think it is important that your husband supportive of your career?
EK: Definitely. Luppo is proud and that stimulates me to work. He always seems happier when I'm working - but maybe that's because I can buy my own clothes. I think that when you are moving around like we have, your husband is the only one able to give support and advice. Nothing else in your world is fixed.
JP: How have you managed to market yourself?
EK: It has always been down to contacts.
JP: What difference has it made that you are female?
EK: I think I have posed less of a threat to my colleagues, which has made it easier to be accepted.
JP: How are your career prospects back in Holland now?
EK: Bad. I have been away so long. But I have high hopes of doing something with my French.
JP: Travelling is obviously important to you. Do you have any dreams of settling down?
EK: Eventually I would like to settle somewhere and work or run a business with Luppo. I don't mind where it is. I have no burning desire to go back to Holland. I hope that one day we will both be equally certain that the country we land up in is where we want to stay.
Els would like to share the following with you:
OrganisationsThe Institute of Petroleum
61 New Cavendish Street
London
W1M 8AR
Tel: (44) (0)171 467 7100
Contact Jo Parfitt: Generaal Spoorlaan 24, 2252 TA, Voorschoten, Netherlands - Tel: +31 (0)71 561 6857 - www.expatrollercoaster.com