READ meet the team series continues with a spotlight on Rickie Yuill, our Hub Lead Engineer for the Middle East.
What’s your career background?
I began my career by completing an HND in Systems Engineering at Dundee College, and subsequently studied Mechanical Engineering at Dundee University. My first job in the oil and gas sector, before finishing my university studies, was with Schlumberger beginning as a Wireline Field Specialist trainee and progressively advanced to the role of Senior Field Specialist over a span of 4.5 years. Following my time at Schlumberger, I worked as a field engineer at TGT, and later transitioned to Altus Interventions as a Senior Tractor Logging Engineer, all within the context of the North Sea. Looking for something new and different involving international travel, led me to join READ as a Senior Engineer and ultimately becoming the Hub Lead Engineer for the Middle East.
What does a typical day look like for you?
When I’m home I will get up around 7 am, wake up my two younger kids and get them ready for school. The following few hours are spent addressing work-related matters like emails, meetings, and planning upcoming Qatar assignments. When my wife is not working, we often run errands together or go out for lunch. However, when my wife is working, I manage household tasks, walk the dog, and pick up the kids when the school day concludes. Evenings are busy with the kids’ extracurricular activities and clubs. When on the job, my shifts generally range from 12 to 16 hours, involving various activities such as rigging, logging, report generation, and administrative tasks.
What do you most enjoy about the work you do?
Travelling to new places and experiencing different cultures and food. Every job is different, although the core work overlaps across scopes. Different locations and well conditions pose distinct challenges that keep the job engaging.
What has been your biggest work challenge, and how did you overcome it?
I think it would have to be the COVID-19 pandemic; my job involves working away from home and during the pandemic, this proved very difficult with international travel coming to a standstill. We all have families to support and bills to pay but without the day rate received from working away and salary cuts, this was very difficult. Due to travel restrictions, READ turned to training engineers abroad from partner companies and investing heavily in logging remotely.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
One of my favourite things to do is spend time with my family, so my favourite place is anywhere in Scotland really where we can take a tent. We love camping, family trips away and spending as much time together as we can!
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.