It's one of the largest industries in the world. They have offices, and use software too!

I used to have an office job in the oil industry but the company I worked for had quite the opposite attitude. Due to a strong union there was a department where "restructured" people, to the tune of ~900 at some point - went on to do absolutely jack schitt until a project or activity needed resources. In which case you'd first have to go fish in that pond and if you simply couldn't find the correct skill set then you'd look for resources outside of the company. Some people stayed there for years until retirement.

On the field work side there were a couple of rounds of layoffs as automation started to kick in. Most in the field were contractors so their employer moved them around companies as needed. But for one person to see 30 rounds of layoffs I'd say it's still quite a bit of bad luck.

You might be surprised. Lots of people worked manual labour at some point.

But having been a roughneck after high school, no one higher than the rig manager would hold a speech in that industry. He'd get a call as we were finishing the hole and convey the news when everyone came in for lunch.

Possibly not directly, but two of my best friends were roughnecks, and then Deck Foreman. Unfortunately, one of them died just a few months back (not covid). Going to miss him down the pub.

maybe some in corporate roles.