Interviewer: Preetam Prakash

Affiliation: University of Arizona

Jim Fisher had contacted Preetam after his father had read the article regarding the study in the local Meridian Star. Preetam and Jim had arranged to meet in Lauderdale, about 20 minutes away from Meridian. Preetam ended up interviewing Jim at a local gas station/deli on Highway-45 in Lauderdale.

Jim was born and raised in Meridian. He spent 10 years on active duty in the Air Force and also served in the National Guard Reserves. Before beginning to work offshore he held a local government job. Insufficient and irregular pay led him to look for work in the offshore industry. His search was facilitated by the fact that his wife had several family members who worked offshore. He started working offshore in 2001 and left the industry in 2004. He reported enjoying working offshore, in particular, the camaraderie which he felt existed among offshore workers. Adjusting to offshore work schedules and other aspects of the industry was fairly easy for him, partly because of the time he had spent in the military. However, he also repeatedly mentioned the importance of support from family members, particularly spouses, if one had plans to stay in offshore work over the long term. Jim left offshore work in 2004 due to a combination of personal issues involving his family and a negative experience with the last offshore company that he worked for. He went back to work for the state government, in addition to being in the National Guard reserves and holding an additional third job. He said that he would love to go back to work offshore at this point, but was prevented from doing so due to an injury he had incurred during the time since he last worked in the industry.