AN engineer has revealed how she works on some of the world’s most luxurious oil rigs – and gets paid a fortune.
Shams Albayati, 27, has worked on oil rigs with sunbeds, massage chairs, indoor pools and even racing simulators.
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Shams works as an engineer on oil rigs across the globe and her job is to fix and maintain “huge equipment”.
Although she admits the job is “not easy” spending weeks away from home, she says “it’s worth it”.
Not only does the career offer adventure and five-star treatment, Shams also makes a fortune, with the average wage for an engineer being more than £100,000.
“The oil field is a great place to learn everything like you will meet a lot of people from all over the world,” Shams told The Sun.
“You will learn so much in a small amount of time, you’ll be exposed to a lot of things, I definitely recommend it.”
Shams’ job has also made her a well-seasoned traveller and has taken her to many places around the world.
“I’ve been to Mexico, I’ve been to Norway, I’ve been to Malta, I’ve been to Kuwait. I’ve been to Lebanon, I’ve been to UAE,” she said.
Although most rigs have comfortable living quarters, a rig in Norway outshone the rest for Shams with incredible food and great entertainment.
“They had everything all types of snack and super healthy options,” she said.
“They had a salad bar, they had everything and every day they would cook something new. We would have salmon one day and steak the next.
“They even had a five-star restaurant chef,” she said.
There was an indoor pool, gym and weights room for workers to stay in shape during their time at sea.
The rig also boasted a gaming room with a race car simulator and a music room .
Massage chairs were also available for staff to relax and spend some much needed downtime.
There was even a sunbed for the crew to top up their tan.
Although everyone on board lives in close proximity, privacy was not an issue as staff had their own room and private bathroom.
Shams said she does struggle with being away from home, especially during the holiday season – but the team on board try to keep each others spirits up.
“We have a mini celebration where they cook something or like for Thanksgiving for Christmas,” she said.
“They make they make a table full of cakes and snacks and try to make you not feel so lonely and so away from home.”
She added: “You really need to have the mind set for otherwise you won’t make it in the field.
“It’s hard so you need to be up for the challenge and you can get so mentally drained.”
After graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering, Shams headed straight onto the rigs and has “been in the field ever since”.
She said some people are “shocked and taken aback” by her presence as a woman in the industry.
But she added: “They’re kind of forced to accept this reality that it’s no longer a male dominated industry, but for woman as well.”
Although her line of work is one many would consider dangerous, Shams insisted it’s very safe as the weather is constantly monitored and the rig will usually move away before a storm hits.
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But, sometimes, when its too late and a storm is already brewing the crew will have to hunker down inside the rig and wait for it to pass while no one is allowed to go outside.
Shams said she has only ever experienced this once – and it was more “exciting” than frightening for her.
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