Why I Left the Oil & Gas Industry to Build Software

There’s one number that has stayed with me for over a decade.

When I was a mid-level manager at a large international service company, I ran a needs assessment across our division. The result was shocking: our technical account managers were spending roughly 70% of their time aggregating data or hunting for information. Not acting on it. Not solving problems. Not applying their engineering expertise. Just searching.

And it wasn’t unique to one company or one role. I saw the same pattern everywhere I worked in oil and gas.

If you work in this industry, that probably doesn’t surprise you. You’ve lived it. You might be living it right now.

That number stayed with me for years. Eventually, it pushed me to leave.

#Why I Left

I didn’t walk away from oil and gas because I stopped loving the work. I left because I couldn’t fix the broken parts from the inside, no matter how hard I tried.

Trying to repair broken workflows meant years of unpaid overtime and countless late nights. I documented hundreds of pain points from employees and customers. I learned new skills and built working prototypes to show what real digitalization could look like. I wrote proposal after proposal trying to secure resources to move the needle.

But leadership was chasing digital buzzwords without understanding the mechanics of real change.

The evidence was overwhelming. The need for change was obvious. But the vision, talent, and a workable roadmap were nowhere in sight. Despite the hype, large organizations continued moving at a glacial pace, prioritizing short-term profits instead of meaningful improvements for employees and customers — classic symptoms of the innovator’s dilemma.

My background gave me a rare perspective: web programming, user experience design, and mechanical engineering inside oil and gas. I knew what needed to change. But I also knew I couldn’t deliver it alone at the level the industry deserved.

To build the tools the oilfield actually needs, I had to level up.

So I made a calculated bet. I stepped away to master modern software development — a skill I had taught myself over the years but never fully refined. I immersed myself in the technologies and practices used by fast-moving companies, the ones building products people actually enjoy using. I learned how to create clean, scalable applications with thoughtful architecture and intuitive interfaces that don’t require a 200-page training manual.

All along, I planned to return. I just needed to come back dangerous.

#Why I’m Coming Back Now

The oilfield hasn’t changed much since I left. That’s not criticism — it’s opportunity.

The same spreadsheet nightmares, endless email chains, and manual workarounds that burned out talented people a decade ago are still burning them out today. If anything, the strain has increased: teams are leaner, expectations are higher, and burnout is real.

But the timing has finally caught up to the need.

The technology landscape has transformed. Cloud tools are stable, affordable, and ready for real field use. Open-source software has exploded in quality and capability. The frameworks and patterns I’ve spent years mastering now allow small teams to build powerful, custom software in weeks instead of years.

Today, I’m equipped to handle every stage of the digitalization journey — from discovery and rapid prototyping to full-stack development, deployment, and real-world iteration.

Why timing matters

For more than a decade, the industry has been sold “digital transformation,” often by people who have never worked a rig site, torn down equipment, written production code, or had to explain to a customer why a report was wrong because of a spreadsheet error.

I’m not bringing promises. I’m bringing field experience, domain knowledge, modern engineering skills, and the ability to ship working software.

#What’s Ahead

Digitidal is my direct response to the frustration and inefficiency I lived through — and that so many others still experience today.

I’m not building software for the sake of building software. Every tool begins with a deep understanding of this industry and the problems you face every day. The goal isn’t to push problems down the road. It’s to solve them.

Here’s what excites me most about the custom software we build:

Giving teams their time back.
That 70% waste isn’t inevitable. It’s a symptom of using the wrong tools. Purpose-built apps with smart data capture, clean interfaces, and connected datasets eliminate busywork and restore time for real engineering and problem-solving.

Data that works while you sleep.
Real-time dashboards. Automated reports. Metrics that stay current because data is captured as work happens. No more Sunday-night spreadsheet marathons. Decisions happen faster. Uncertainty drops. People at every level can act with confidence instead of waiting for approval.

Change that actually sticks.
Too many improvements disappear when a key manager leaves or the next crisis hits. Why? Because the gains live in people’s heads, not in the systems. When workflows, validation rules, and business logic are built into software, better behavior and results become the default even after the change agent moves on.

An unfair advantage for smaller teams.
Large oil and gas companies will modernize eventually. They’ll spend millions and take years. Smaller operators and service providers can leapfrog them. A focused digital tool built around your actual workflow can allow one person to perform the work that once required an entire department.

#This Blog

This is the first post on the Digitidal blog, and I want to be clear about what you’ll find here.

Expect honest conversations about real operational problems and practical ways modern software can solve them. No buzzword bingo. No vendor fluff. No vague transformation talk. Just perspective from someone who has lived both sides — the field and the code.

Some posts will be technical. Others will explore business building, leadership, or lessons learned while tackling industry challenges and growing this company. I’ll share openly so others can learn from the journey.

If you’re an operator, engineer, or field manager tired of hearing that better tools are “coming soon,” stay tuned.

Alongside client work, the first thing I’m building is a focused online community — a space to share technical knowledge and help professionals drive real innovation. I’m starting the code repository today.

It’s time to start fixing what isn’t working, one practical solution at a time.