Getting accepted into a position that deals with business at the top level, at a young age of 19, felt like a blessing, as it elucidated and sparked my interest in further developing my business skills. Being a part of this company meant that I was partaking in the perpetual changes that are ongoing to a field that swears by its traditions. After all, the oil and gas industry are the cornerstones that lie beneath modern-day Norway. I was no longer on the sidelines contemplating about becoming a part of the industry one day; I was now actively engaging with it. Esoteric conversations became understandable as I became adept with solving logistics problems within the WELS software. The idea behind the WELS software is to create a seamless system between suppliers, operators and logistics personnel. By having these crucial components work together in a profound and deliberate way, means that costs can be cut and environment spared. In other words, Wellit and the WELS software revolutionized the industry, by introducing digital solutions to analog problems.
WELS Operator is the name of the software that is developed by Wellit AS, and is the software that is most widely used by their clients. The software is based on MySQL and PHP, along with JavaScript to model different simulations. Although my responsibilities were technical, they were not on the programming-level. I did, however, spend a lot of time with the developers, as my interest for programming is present. My knowledge in HTML and CSS did, however, come in handy when I spotted visual cues that could be temporarily fixed by my limited knowledge. WELS Operator in its rudementary form connects the tasks which are required from bringing one piece of equipment from A to B and back to A, while simultaneously tracking the equipment's location, giving a detailed history of where the product has been, where it is going and when it is arriving. The software also allows for a multitude of different operations, such as scheduling (personnel and tasks), base inventory, rig inventory, equipment lists, container logs and vessel reporting. Given the fact that the program is comprehensive and covers the majority of the business operations within the oil and gas industry, it gave me the opportunity to learn and understand the bigger picture of how business was being done at this level. This was an opportunity I took.
Being young and being handed this opportunity, I was perturbed. I knew by entering this position that I was going to be handed a lot responsibility. I knew that my knowledge - or lack thereof - could turn out to be temporarily detrimental to important business operations. If a client had problems with closing out manifests (a document stating all of the equipment that needs to be loaded onboard a vessel), and that resulted in the vessel being unable to leave the dock, the time spent fixing the issue could result in many thousand of dollars lost in operations. Luckily, all of my peers were fantastic and of much help, however, there were regularly night-shifts, when Europe was sleeping, that America needed guidance. However, as time went on and my ability grew subsequently with the accumulated experience I was getting, the work became enjoyable. So much so, that in 2019, I clocked in over 1000 hours while still being a full time student. Consequently, my grades suffered a bit. However, the experience gained working at Wellit vs. getting a grade or two better on my Bachelor's level, is a trade I do not regret taking. I got to work with phenominal people across different companies, and that is something I do not take for granted.
My grades suffered a bit as a consequence of clocking in more than 1000 hours while still being a full time student. However, the experience gained far outweighs the top-grades I potentially missed.
My idle time at work was primarily spent on my business; Nordic Web, as well as developing my skillls in programming using sources such as Codeacademy.com
