Whether you’re technical or business-focused, you can find a fascinating, global career in the energy sector. Check out these top firms for some great internship and graduate opportunities.
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Shell
Who?
Royal Dutch Shell is one of the largest companies in the world. It covers every area of the oil and gas industry, from exploring new sources of oil to running 44,000 service stations worldwide.
Where?
Shell is headquartered in London and the Netherlands and operates worldwide. It has a very large US presence with its subsidiary, Shell Oil Company.
What can Shell offer you?
Shell’s programme for penultimate year students is known as an Assessed Internship. It’s split into a large number of specialised fields, from trading to legal to mining. Because it’s assessed directly, it’s an excellent route into the graduate programme.
The Shell graduate programme exposes you to all areas of the business. It’s split into three streams – Commercial (e.g. sales and marketing, supply chain), Corporate Functions (e.g. finance, HR) and Technical (e.g. process engineering, petrophysics). It’s particularly known for its friendliness, its social elements, and the availability of senior staff.
Culturally, Shell is a place for the intelligent and the talented – its backbone is its vast engineering expertise, leading to a culture of excellence. If you’re well-rounded, sophisticated and bright, you’ll fit in well at Shell.
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ExxonMobil
Who?
ExxonMobil are the largest of the 8 ‘supermajor’ oil companies, producing 3.921 million barrel of oil equivalent every day. While it focuses on oil exploration, extraction and wholesale, it also has downstream and chemical divisions.
Where?
ExxonMobil is a US corporation headquartered in Texas. Its UK head office is in Leatherhead, Surrey, with manufacturing plants in Fawley, Mossmorran and Newport.
What can ExxonMobil offer you?
The ExxonMobil graduate scheme covers a wide range of areas. Some require a specific degree, while others, such as finance and HR, are open to everyone. It boasts a generous starting salary of £37,500.
ExxonMobil summer placements run in July and August, and are split into four areas: Refining & Chemicals; Gas & Power Marketing; Fuels, Lubricants and Specialties Marketing; and HR.
ExxonMobil is an informal, down-to-earth place to work. You’re expected to be a team player and focus on results. It gives you great opportunities to work in any number of countries.
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National Grid
Who?
National Grid is responsible for transmitting the UK’s electricity, and for much of the gas transmission network. It also transmits gas and electricity between the UK and Europe. National Grid USA transmits gas and electricity in the Northeast US.
Where?
National Grid is headquartered in Warwick and has offices around the country. US offices are in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.
What can National Grid offer you?
National Grid has several highly regarded and extremely popular student and graduate development programmes, covering a wide range of areas from gas engineering to financial analysis. Graduate programme salaries start at £27,000.
The company is known for its focus on personal development. It invests in its graduates, and you can expect excellent training and support.
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National Grid employer profile
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Wood Group
Who?
An engineering and operations company providing support to the oil and gas industry – everything from building, maintaining and decommissioning pipelines to designing software.
Where?
Wood Group is headquartered in Aberdeen and operates in over 50 countries worldwide.
What can Wood Group offer you?
Wood Group offers summer internships to penultimate year students from all degree disciplines. It also offers an Early Careers programme for people of any age with little or no experience in the oil and gas industry. The programme doesn’t run on a set timeline. It’s designed to increase your development and expose you to as much of the business as possible.
Wood Group works with some of the most successful companies around the world, and provides great opportunities for people who are willing to travel.
Bright Network articles:
Wood Group employer profile
Centrica
Who?
Centrica is the owner of the British Gas brand, which supplies energy to over 11 million homes and businesses. Other subsidiaries are involved in energy storage, exploration, and even plumbing.
Where?
Centrica has its headquarters in Windsor, with other offices and headquarters of its brands around the UK. Other locations include the North sea, the Netherlands and North America.
What can Centrica offer you?
Centrica runs graduate programmes in everything from customer insight to subsurface exploration. Many require a specific undergraduate or graduate degree, and you’ll need to be flexible and willing to work in different locations. Graduate programme starting salaries range from £27,000 to £32,000.
Centrica’s 10-week summer internship programmes are designed to develop your employability and be an insight into working at Centrica as a graduate.
Centrica looks for people who can create a positive environment, so you can expect friendly colleagues and supportive managers.
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Tips for a top-notch CV
- Always research the company you’re applying to, including recent developments they’ve undertaken on UK soil.
- Show you’re aware of how the energy sector affects the public, with supporting evidence of how good you are as a communicator.
- Make sure you demonstrate a real love for scientific advancement in energy acquisition.
- Pick out examples of a hard task that was seen through to the end by your perseverance.
- Showcase any relevant work experience, whether that’s a placement at university or a summer job.
- Use our exclusive CV Template to create the perfect CV.
Browse graduate jobs in energy and infrastructure to take the next step towards your career.