Tamashin,

I do know about the old french company Schlumberger/ Dowell but not were they do there recruitments.... foreign oil related companies recruit local personnel in Brazil (and rest of South America)  to cut cost and follow nationalisation plans...but my word was ....people in Supervisor levels....(refrase...I do know a few persons in Supervisor positions and managers who are Brazilians)  

When it comes to schools and education etc there might be some difference between countries...or not  what is your opinion....there is local people with Chief Engineers tickets, worked for Brazilian companies as Chiefs, who now work as 2nd and 3-rd Engineers for foreign company and may not go any further due to where the ticket was issued...

Most oil related companies are from US or UK and world wide spread, as you know, so for them it makes more sense to hire someone which they, when there contract ending, could send somewhere ells and it´s very rear that a Brazilian want to spend more then 2 weeks from home and family..

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Petrobras because I´m not familiar to there work situation and how they do their recruitments..but there 3-rd parties they using like Baker, Schlumberger, Haliburton etc are all foreign company's and have a lot of gringos from all over the world....but as Tashmin mentioned ..it all comes to competition..how you know and what you know....like in every employment situation..

My intention in this "finding work in Brazil" was to give an idea because I have not seen it being mentioned in this forum yet......

I´m not native English speaking (my 3-rd language) so I hope for forgiveness how to spell and put words in wrong order.... and not be political "right" is all-right...

Um bom dia...para tudos que adoro Brasil...

I have with me now a student from the local federal university and I put to him a few of your points to guage his reaction. We believe that you would have to know the education systems in detail before one is compared to another. However, his own experience of studying at a canadian university has shown to him that  his engineering studies  in Brasil are more indepth than they were in Canada. The maths. subject for example was similar to what he was doing when he was in the first grade.

We think you miss the point about the determination of the "home " student. You are both from non English speaking countries, seekin a job here and the point is regularly driven home to them that competition for jobs is very stiff.They too, would like a job, but English is not a pre requisite to getting a job, though it helps. Of more importance is the persons perceived ability to do the job which is ascertained through many interviews. One significant factor is that while English may be required, the interviews are in Portuguese which would have to be at a very good level.

 The employment of outside help may be for a multitude of reasons such as on site training etc. with no need for permanency as skills and expertise are passed on. These are also updated and experts are brought in on short contracts as and when required.

Another point he has just made is if you only work at a certain level then you only meet (in the main) people from that level so you would need to know the entire organisational structure to find out and that isnt always feasible or practical. Its also inevitable that you will meet people "on their way up", on a career ladder.

Finding work has been very difficult for contributors and various strategies have been suggested throughout the forum. Focusing on these oil companies is useful but be aware of the strength of the competition, a plus point not a negative.

My thoughts.

I understand why you put this message on the forum. My reply was to show you that the competition is equally prepared and those applying for positions such as you have mentioned should be under no illusions or suffer from the "Custer" effect. The "Custer" effect describes a situation where you think you are going to have the upper hand based on supposition. We know what happened to Custer.

My father, a very genial and affable soul would regale us with rig tales but they were not very glamorous.  In fact he steered me to a civil engineering life. His tales of working in rough seas all over the world, 30ft waves,12 hour shifts, getting to the cabin for something to eat and then straight to bed hardly endeared me to a life on the rigs. He told me of people going stir crazy when the helicopter was late and ofcourse the survival tests which had to be carried out in Reading. Yes, first you survived Reading then you had a test where you sat in a helicopter in swimming pool and they turned it upside down under water and you had to escape. Joy. So my friend, though I may have meandered slightly from the point, I go back to original which was to say "know thy adversary" or in this case the competition.

To Jools,

timing is everything and at the moment schools are winding down for the Winter break though things will pick up again in August, good luck!

Well, Toss, let me tell you sth. If you can prove you've been living with someone for at least 12 months as a married couple (through joint accounts, photos and all that BS any country asks) you can apply for a de facto visa under the "reunião familiar" status. It's better than getting married in your case. Divorce can be a bit troublesome in some cases, don't think it's an expensive process. To make sure you have some guarantees, marry under the "separação total de bens", that is, no matter what you buy after marriage, apartment, estate, anything, it won't be shared with your partner. I'm saying so cause we never know what people have in their minds... And, lol, if the man/woman who wants to marry you want the permanent visa in down under, tell him/her that they'll only get it after 2 years living there, haha. Let's see who is really willing to marry you after such good news,

Best of luck