I think I plan to either do one or the other, it’s the larger meaning of the work rather than the work itself (in this field) that interests me. What I was trying to say above was that I’m willing to look for research jobs as a means of getting my foot in the door given my lack of a portfolio.
So that being said, how would I either
a. find those companies that do upstream or
b. prepare myself now to get a job at one of them?