Offshore pay varies enormously by role, seniority, sector, and region. This guide gives concrete benchmarks to help you evaluate offers and negotiate effectively.
Most offshore workers are paid one of two ways: a day rate (a fixed amount per day worked offshore) or an annual salary (common in offshore wind and some direct-hire production roles). Contract staff are almost always on day rates; permanent employees are more often salaried.
Offshore pay looks higher than onshore equivalents because it's compressed — you earn the same annual income in 182 working days that an onshore worker earns in 230+ days. The remaining days are unpaid home time.
These are day rate ranges for contractor roles in the UK and Norwegian North Sea. Permanent employment salaries will be 15–30% lower gross but include benefits.
The same role pays differently depending on where the project is. As a rough guide:
When comparing international roles, always calculate net income after tax and living costs. A higher gross rate in a tax-jurisdiction you're unfamiliar with can result in a lower net than a UK North Sea role with SED benefit.
Certain qualifications create a measurable premium over a base rate in the same role category:
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