Parker Drilling Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Parker Drilling full-time

Pros – Company going through transition. New CEO, new CFO, new VP-HR... trying to find the path between how things were made 4 decades ago and "modern" managament. Good pay, average benefits. Good operations at the rigs.

Cons – Unclear carreer path. Not enough challenges. Lots of individual work, little team work. Not a learning culture, little/none training.

Advice to Senior Management – If companies exists because of its people, make sure you make your employees grow with the company. Provide and support a learning culture. Let your employees understand the vision and the objectives of their function. Provide a carreer path.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Those that have been with the company for a while treat it as a family company, however those that are newer have a more political environment.

Cons – Getting away from a family feeling, stagnant company.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep the employees happy, keep more employees.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling full-time for less than a year

Pros – the pay is good, some of management is made up of good people

Cons – a lot of backstabbing and dishonesty, people climbing over other people, favoritism shown by management to family who also work there, incompetence and arrogance

Advice to Senior Management – If you are going to do a construction project, don't manage that project with unqualified Parker employees just to keep it in the family, you wouldn't be getting sued by BP right now if you had left the construction of the AADU project to QUALIFIED management teams

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Parker Drilling full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – This 75+ year old company is restructuring and planning for growth and expansion opportunities. Parker introduced a proactive and effective new leadership team in 2012. Implemented new benefits, training, and perks to employees in 2013. Paid out bonuses in 2012. Expanded revenue generating capabilities of Technical Services.

Cons – Need to strengthen Change Management strategies. There is a high concern amongst employees about what will happen next and how it will impact their jobs. A solid Change Management strategy would address this and increase retention.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't give up, stay aligned. I will be crucial to execute on stragties, now more that ever. Your efforts will be rewarded.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling

Pros – Flex time available. Payroll is knowledgeable. Legal has some good people. Help-desk is helpful. Compliance is watchful. Safety is a priority.

Cons – Stock price has not risen in years, everything senior management has tried seems to go south, raises and bonuses promised but not delivered in 2-3 years, starting salaries low. There seems to be a "If you don't like it, then leave mentality." Slim-to-no chance of promotion and no career path available.

Advice to Senior Management – Promote from within instead of constantly bringing in new people. Chart out career paths and encourage everyone to educate themselves. Stop rewarding upper management for its inept decisions. Deliver on your promises or more good people will leave.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Parker Drilling

Pros – Like a family
Most employees aren't expected to work more than their 40 hour work week
Flexible office hours in Houston

Cons – Little room for growth
Changes in the way the company does things are extremely difficult to implement
The overall professionalism of the company is low (still a lot leftover from the "mom & pop" days)

Advice to Senior Management – It's not high school, there's no need for the "cool kids" to push the others down. If the company has failed in several locations and certain people were involved with each location...maybe it's time to cut the cord.

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling

Pros – A small company with a family feeling but no family love.

Cons – Senior Management gets raises but not the little people. The little people are given excuses as why a raise is not foreseeable for the third year in a row yet Sr. Management receives bonuses and raises. No room for growth since Parker is such a small company. The only promotion you would receive would be your Managers job and they are in fear of losing their's so there's definitely no rooom for growth.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop forming cliques and treat everyone as equals instead of step-children.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling

Pros – week on week off schedule

Cons – wait until the last minute to evacuate for hurricanes

Advice to Senior Management – Start rigging down sooner for hurricanes, evacuate sooner so employees can tend to their homes and families. Keep more rigs working, provide more/better tools and equipment.

Former Employee – worked at Parker Drilling

Pros – Pay is ok.
Free Food.

Cons – No direction.
No room to grow at all.
Several Senior Analyst without degrees, so good luck to you.
Try to avoid, could be a worst decision of ones life.

Advice to Senior Management – Step up your game, and provide respect. Respect is a two way streak!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend