Pros
-The people. As with any workplace, there are people who have either a highly positive or negative attitude. I loved working with many of my coworkers and managers. They were some of the best that I have experienced. Some coworkers are also the most toxic I have ever experienced. This job tends to bring out the two extremes in people, more so than other jobs. The camaraderie between shift workers can be highly rewarding, and form lifelong friends, or extremely toxic depending on how you make it, and how your colleagues make it. -Well paying if you are hired as a permanent employee. If you can find a union position then the pay is significantly higher than you would find for equivalent job roles outside of an oil refinery. Overtime pay adds up quickly and can be substantial. But the high pay comes at a price. Many coworkers who have worked for this company for 25+ years describe the pay as a "golden cage" (more on that below) -Highly Professional approach to safety and industry best practices. Every single day we had a safety meeting to brief the team on possible hazards and precautions needed for best practice. This is possibly the single most positive skill I took with me from this company to another industry. Many other companies in other industries will not have the same high standards for safety the the Oil Industry has. It can be a dangerous job and as such the company holds the highest standards possible for safety and professionalism. There is zero tolerance for unsafe work practices. -wide range of technical and practical hands-on skills and training which you can learn -It doesn't get much "bigger" than "Big Oil", almost any other company you join afterwards will not be dealing with volume or throughput quantities as large as Big Oil. Think small margin, high volume. It is high stakes. When you make a small mistake, it can affect tens of thousands of gallons of product. Efficiency is key. This is valuable experience moving to another industry. -Pro/Con, there is a high standard for consistency and professionalism in the company. The oil refinery produces an unfathomable amount of product every single hour of every single day. When you make a mistake, it could affect tens of thousands of gallons of product. Management is generally practical and understanding most of the time but not always. Mistakes happen, but generally they emphasize learning and growing from the mistakes. Sometimes, this is not the case and management can be toxic. Nevertheless, it can be stressful being in a routine high-pressure position knowing your mistake could have an immediate impact on thousands of gallons of product.
Cons
-A lot of tension and drama between the workers union and management. -The refinery never stops except in the case of an extreme natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane). Otherwise, if there is a snowstorm or blizzard, be prepared to sleep on a cot and stay at the refinery (forget about your family at home). -Shift work. Unless you are one of the rare positions which do not require shift work (i.e. engineering, office work, supervisor, management). Otherwise most of the workers on site are required to work rotating Day/Night shifts. If you work as an operator, a laboratory technician, or any skilled worker (plumber, electrician) then it is shift work. Most of the jobs which allow the oil refinery to run continuously 24/7 are shift work jobs. Did I mention that this job has shift work? -Precarious work/life balance for shift workers. The refinery must run 24/7, no questions asked. This means if you are a shift worker there are no "holidays" in a traditional sense. Your schedule is a 14 day pattern that repeats until you retire or leave. The schedule is generally: two days on, two days off, three days on, two days off, two days on, three days off, repeat. If your schedule says you work on Christmas eve, then you are working on Christmas eve. If your schedule says you are working on a wedding or birth of a child or other important event, you are working unless you use a vacation day. Which brings me to the next point... -You can be forced to work. If you are a union employee, part of the contract you sign is an agreement to be "forced" to work. Yes, there is paid vacation for permanent employees (but not for temp workers, more on that below). When you take a paid vacation, other people must cover your shift. But sometimes, due to the rotating shift schedule, only a small handful of workers can actually cover that shift, and if there are any schedule conflicts then the company resorts to a "force list" to FORCE you to work. If somebody calls out, you can be FORCED to go to work. There is a "force list" and every worker trained for that same role gets put on the list. When a shift needs to be "forced" on someone, they get bumped down in priority on the force list, so the next person who hasn't been "forced" in awhile will be "forced" next. Scheduled an appointment? Nope, sorry you have to come in. Groomsman or bridesmaid? Better cross your fingers and hope that the day of the wedding you don't get a phone call that you have to come in. Caveat: if you have a good relationship with your coworkers and/or manager/supervisor they are often more than willing to work around this. I was lucky to work with a team where we tried to make sure nobody got forced to come in if they had important events. However the rules are the rules and there is always the possibility you have to be forced to come in once it is "your turn". -There is a constant paranoia of being called in to work, even on your "days off". The only way to be 99% certain that you will not be called in to work is to take a vacation day, and even then...emergencies happen and you may be called in. -It can feel like a "golden cage". It is exceedingly difficult to find equivalent pay for the same position outside of the oil refinery. So the retention rate is high if you are hired directly as a permanent employee. Many people stay for 20-30+ years. Almost everyone stays for the pay and the stability of working in a union. However many years of shift work can take a psychological and emotional toll on some people. Some people can be very (justifiably) jaded after 25+ years. -The high pay means upper management expects all of the above is "par for the course". AKA "You signed up for this, take it or leave it" -If you are hired as a temporary worker via contracting agency, you are expected to work the same hours and perform the same tasks as a permanently hired Phillips 66 employee. This may have changed since I left but during my tenure at the company, I was originally hired as a temporary worker and I was expected to work the same job, the same shifts, and be on the same "force list" as the union workers. Some temps have worked 2+ years before being hired. It is the worst of both worlds. You don't get the pay, vacation, or benefits (insurance, retirement etc.) of a permanent employee, yet you suffer all of the negatives of the shift work. -Virtually no upward mobility. Especially if you join the union. Yes, there is a payscale progression, but once you are in the union that's it. You are an operator/Technician for life. You can maybe be a production supervisor someday but that's about it as far as "upward mobility". Upper management generally never hires from "the union".