http://www.returnofkings.com/55949/so-you-wanna-work-on-a-rig

Summary:

  • six months on, six months off
  • $100k/year
  • no need for higher education
  • no daily commute
  • work all over the world
  • loneliness and isolation, away from family and friends
  • work is manual, hard, dirty, and dangerous
  • no sex; basically a reading, writing, and gym lifestyle
  • 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 28 days straight
  • food is generally good
  • coworkers are diverse, but determined, successful, and disciplined
  • a good place to make connections
  • a cutthroat business were mistakes are not tolerated and can have dire consequences
  • you will learn to be better with people
  • you will develop self discipline to a massive degree
  • you will learn to cope with isoation and being alone
  • you will learn to stay cool under pressure, to think clearly, to lead a team and communicate effectively, to cope with failure and try again a different way, which carries over a millionfold into the real world where things are much less intense and mistakes don’t have such dire consequences

Author emphasizes it's not for everybody. Based on his account, this line of work seems like an excellent crucible for self-improvement. Author goes into more detail about the industry itself at http://www.theartofselfhood.com/2014/02/how-to-get-job-on-rigs.html