Part 3: On becoming a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) and Passive Acoustic Monitor (PAM) operator

Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perserverance and self-criticsim

-Albert Enstein

Here's part 3 of my blog posts 'On becoming an MMO/PAM operator'. Now that you have your offshore survival certifications, your medical and your MMO/PSO/PAM certificates…how about getting the work! 

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A lot of people think once they have all their certifications they'll be headed offshore and working right away...but it's not necessarily that easy and takes some time and luck to get your first contract. So here's some tips and my answers to question 4 based on my experience:

4) How do you get a contract and how does working as a freelance MMO work? 

WORKING FREELANCE vs WORKING FOR ONE COMPANY

Most MMOs are freelance consultants meaning they don’t work for a single company but are sent on contract jobs by oil and gas or environmental consulting personnel companies. Occasionally, some companies hire MMOs as full time employees but these jobs are more difficult to come by. That being said, if a personnel company likes you there's a good chance they will send you on contracts on a regular basis. I have been fortunate enough to work consistently for some good companies over the last few years.

If you are hired full time with one company you have the benefit of regular work even when you're not offshore; these companies will hire MMOs to do the field work as needed and then office based work, such as data analyses and report writing, when they're not in the field.  As I said previously, this does not happen as often and this type of employment can be hard to find (and competitive!). As well, these companies will give priority to those living locally, so, depending on where you live or whether you are willing to relocate, this might not be an option available to you.

The benefit of working freelance is that you'll have more choice on where you work (lots of international travel if you like it!), you'll likely make a higher day rate when you do work, and you'll have lots of flexibility with scheduling (choose when you do or do not work!). Of course, keep in mind that you will have to be more flexible and prepared as a freelance contractor...be willing and ready to hop on a plane at any minute. 

Since the nature of freelance work is changeable your friends and family are going to have to be flexible and accepting that this is how the work is and it can be difficult to make plans far down the road i.e. those winter holidays in Mexico! This can be a downside to the job but we do the job because we love it and that's what makes up for it: international travel (occasionally in business class if you're lucky!), meeting and working with people from different cultures, implementing important mitigation measures to  minimize impacts to marine wildlife, collecting data in regions which often have little or no offshore data collection, the opportunity to teach and inspire the vessel`s crew and clients about these animals...and the opportunity to observe species you haven't seen before!

COMPETITION

Once you have your certifications in order it might sound easy to get a job but, like many other fields, there is competition. Especially in this field…LOTS of people want a job travelling the world looking at whales and dolphins! It can be especially difficult to secure your first contract (you don't have the experience yet!) and I would strongly recommend you budget and plan for it to take six months to a year to get your first contract. 

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Of course, this all depends on the season you are entering the job market (fewer jobs in the northern hemisphere winter), your location (priority is often given to those closer to the job), your previous experience in the field and just plain luck. One of the best ways to get into the field is when a company is hiring MMOs for a big job...my first seismic job required 12 MMOs per five week rotation (3 on each of the 4 vessels) over the 7 months of the project. It was a great entry level contract as the new MMOs were mixed in with the more experienced MMOs resulting in a perfect training opportunity!

PERSONNEL COMPANIES

As I mentioned above, freelance MMO/PAM operators are usually hired through personnel companies. When you complete your training most MMO/PSO courses provide a list of personnel companies at the end of the course. This is a good place to start looking for the work; contact these companies with a copy of your CV and inform them of your availability. If they are interested they will either move ahead with the process of sending you on a job (and you’re lucky!) or, if they have nothing suitable at that time, they'll probably add you to their files for future contracts. Along with your CV they will normally ask you to send scans of your offshore survival certifications, MMO/PSO/PAM certifications, medical and other relevant paperwork.

BE CREATIVE! 

I would also recommend you get creative with the job search! Don’t just send your CV to the companies on the list you’re provided during your course because (just think about it!) everybody who’s taking the course with you (and before and after you!) will be sending their CVs to those companies too. Get creative and do further research for companies who might hire MMOs. Use Google to search for anybody who you can send your CV to. Join LinkdIn and the Oil and Gas and other related industry groups…the more companies with your CV the more likely you will get some work!

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So those are my main tips regarding getting a job as an MMO/PAM monitor. If you are still reading this blogpost you are obviously still interested in pursuing this line of work! Once again, I would like to emphasize the importance of recognizing you are considering going into a competitive and professional field; it might sound nice to have a job sitting on deck looking at whales and dolphins and turtles all day but I still want you to keep in mind the following about the work we do:

WORKING ALONE

You are usually by yourself or working with one other MMO (typically on opposite watches to you) on an industrial offshore vessel (or platform). Although most of the crew are quite welcoming to MMOs, you are your own entity on the vessel often surrounded by people who don't really get why we are there. That is...why would we want to stare at the water for hours for that one fleeting observation of a distant blow or a brief sighting of some bowriding dolphins? I've had times when I burst into the bridge with excitement about a marine mammal, shark or bird sighting and the crew just looked at me blankly. 

Of course, often the crew will be intrigued by your enthusiasm which can translate in their increased interest in the animals and this can be helpful to you if it means they will help you spot or track the animals later. If they can confirm sightings their observations can support your decision if you need to request a delay or shut down.

BOREDOM AND EXPOSURE

Watches can be long, lonely, hot, cold, wet and boring and it is important you can remain focussed on the task at hand during the, often long, periods you will not be seeing a marine mammal or sea turtle. During one of my first jobs, in the Gulf of Mexico, we had 35 days without seeing a single marine mammal. There were three of us on that job, all quite experienced in marine mammal work, and we started to wonder if we were blind! The simple truth is sometimes the animals just aren't there and keep in mind  there can be long periods without sightings.  

For some of us though (and it should be most of us!), it is the brief but rare and interesting sightings that drive us to keep us going. My heart still races when I see a distant blow or a group of dolphins porpoising towards us from the distance!

MITIGATING

If you have to request mitigation…it can be a difficult! You are making a decision that can cost a company a significant amount of time and money and often your decision is based on an observation that nobody else saw, so you have to be confident (this is when it helps to take photos or when other crew members see the animals too!). 

Something that surprise me when I first started this work was how many different interpretations of the mitigating guidelines there are out there and this can occur among MMOs and between MMOs and the clients/crew of the vessels. Fortunately, work is being done both by the legislating organizations and within the MMO community to to address these issues and ensure the mitigation rules are clearer. For this reason it is important, even when you have completed your certifications, to keep track of updates on the guidelines for the areas you work in.

A great source of guidance for interpreting and applying the guidelines is the Marine Mammal Observer Assocation (MMOA). I recommend, once you have the right experience, joining the Marine Mammal Observer Association. The MMOA has wealth of information about our work and the forum is a great place to ask your questions and see what issues other members have come across. To access most of the information you have to be a full member and to become a  full member you’ll need some experience (6 months offshore) and be willing to follow the mission and aims of the association). Until you can become a full member you can join as an associate member. 

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Finally, talk and work together with other MMOs...it is especially important to interpret the guidelines consistently when you are working on the same vessel or job together. I have heard stories of MMOs, on the same vessel, interpreting and implementing mitigation guidelines in different ways. This would be incredibly frustrating for the seismic crew and make you look unprofessional. Make sure you and whoever you work with have the same understanding of the rules! 

I think most of us will agree we want good MMOs working out there so bounce your ideas and thoughts off other MMOs and we can all help each other do a better job so all MMO/PAM operators maintain professional standards! 

That's it for this blog post...next time:

5)What is life for an MMO/PAM operator like offshore?