Working in Aberdeen
Why work in Aberdeen?
Engineers, designers, and consultants of all types choose to work in Aberdeen, and its close neighbours of Kingswells and Westhill, because Aberdeen is the Oil and Gas capital of the Europe. And, increasingly, it is seen as being the renewable energy capital of the UK.
All of the world's major players in oil and gas, and many of the minor players have offices in Aberdeen city, or within a few miles in surrounding Aberdeenshire.
What You Need to Know
Potential clients are likely to be located in one of four main areas:
Central Aberdeen: Shell, Repsol and service company Petrofac are just three of the companies who have offices in the city centre. All are within walking distance of the train station and ideally located for lunchtime shopping. A bit further out, at Rubislaw, adjacent to Anderson Drive, Chevron and Chrysaor have offices.
Altens and Tullos to the south-east: Service companies AMEC and Wood Group have offices here. KCA Deutag are a lit bit further out at Portlethen, an ideal location for those who intend to drive from the Scottish central belt and beyond.
Dyce to the north: Dyce, home to the airport and
offshore heliports is about five miles from the city centre. Although it does have a train station, it is in the wrong place for most of your potential clients, so driving is recommended. These clients include BP, Aker and Halliburton. Dyce has a small selection of shops, banks and pubs.
Kingswells and Westhill to the west: Kingswells, and rapidly expanding Westhill are about five miles to the west of the city centre. There you can find Subsea 7, Technip, drilling company Transocean and the Acergy offices. Both Kingswells and Westhill have limited accommodation options, nightlife and shops, so most contractors live in the city and drive to or cycle to the office in the morning.
Worth noting: Many of the engineering contractors have more than one office e.g. Wood Group have their main office in Altens, but have people located in other offices to the north and south of the city centre. Be sure to check at your interview where you will be working.
Thursday night is late night shopping in the city, consequently traffic can be a bit of a headache - especially if you have to negotiate the Haudagain Roundabout.
Rented Accommodation is easy to get - lots of contractors have gone down the Buy To Let route, though a minimum 6 month lease is common. House sharing with other contractors is common. Tuesday is accommodation day in the local daily newspaper, The Press and Journal.
Travellers: The large numbers of contractors in Aberdeen are known as Travellers, working in the city, but returning home at weekends. This is very common in Aberdeen and most clients take this into account allowing for mid Monday morning starts and early Friday finishing times. Make sure you discuss this at your interview.
Where is Aberdeen?
Aberdeen, located on the North East coast of Scotland, is approximately 130 miles north of Edinburgh, and 530 miles north of London.
How to Get To Aberdeen
By Road The main road to Aberdeen from the south is the A90. A dual carriage way dotted with speed cameras every few miles. From both the south west and south east, join the A90 at Perth then follow it around the edge of Dundee and on to Aberdeen. Allow 3 hours from either Glasgow or Edinburgh, depending on traffic. Travelling from Edinburgh, follow the M90 to Perth. If from the Glasgow and the south west, take the A80 and M80 to Stirling, then the M9 and A9 to Perth.
By Air Aberdeen's International Airport, located in Dyce about 5 miles north of the city is served by EasyJet, and many foreign carriers, including KLM.
By Rail Aberdeen train station, located in the heart of the city, is served by
Scotrail,
LNER, and
Cross Country trains. Thanks to frequent ScotRail services, you can easily get from Inverness to Aberdeen in 2h 11m, and Dundee to Aberdeen in 1h 17m. LNER services will whisk you from London to Aberdeen in 7h 24m. Scotrail's service includes The Caledonian Sleeper, which (unsurprisingly) travels overnight from London and is scheduled to arrive before 8 am. Ideal for an early morning meeting.
Must Do Activities in Aberdeen
Aberdeen may be a small city with a population of just over 250,000 but that doesn't mean it is a quiet city. There are loads of cultural, sporting, and culinary activities that attract visitors from all over the world to the city. In fact, Aberdeen is a popular stop off destination for many cruise ships who dock at the city's new south harbour. As a result, a whole host of guided tours are on offer - ideal if you are only in the city for a short time. Below, we have listed a few ideas that might be of interest.
Have a wee dram. On a day off, or at the weekend go on the whisky trail. Take a trip to Speyside, home to some of Scotland's most famous whiskies, visiting some of the distilleries on the way. So pick up your copy of
Jim Murray's Whisky Bible and make sure you have a non drinking driver!
Alternatively, stay in the city and visit The Grill on Union St, or CASC in Stirling St - both top notch whisky bars.
Get on yer bike. Aberdeenshire is one of Scotland's top spots for mountain biking. From purpose built trail centres like Tarland Trails, to wild open mountain tracks like Clachnaben, and everything in between. Check out Cycle Grampian's guide to
mountain biking in Aberdeenshire for more info.
Play a round of golf. The city is golf mad, and no wonder. Aberdeenshire has 55 golf courses, one for every week of the year, and that is not counting the courses within Aberdeen city. Loads of companies have golf societies, or organise "team building" days on the golf course. And, with Aberdeen being so far north, there is sufficient daylight in the summer to allow you to play until after 10pm.
Go Fishing Aberdeenshire's crystal clear lochs, snow-fed rivers or well stocked trout fisheries make for a fabulous day out. Whether fishing for salmon on the River Dee, brown trout in the River Don, or sea trout in the Ythan you are always going to be surrounded by beautiful countryside. Tight lines!
Watch a football match. Head for Pittodrie Stadium, home of Aberdeen FC. The Dons as they are called locally, have won four Scottish league titles, seven Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups. They are also the only Scottish team to have won two European trophies, having won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983.
Eat a Rowie. A very popular local snack. This flour, yeast, salt and butter bun, often dunked in soup or tea is available from any self respecting bakery in the city.
Go on the piste! Ski or snowboard in Aberdeen at the dry ski slope, or at the Lecht, Glenshee or the Cairngorms, all within a couple of hours drive from Aberdeen city.
See the Northern Lights, or to give it its proper name, the Aurora Borealis. Aberdeen is far enough north to catch this spectacle. If you are lucky enough to be there when a show is predicted then try to avoid the city's light pollution and drive out of town for a decent view.
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