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<p>I’m 3rd year so I’m just doing an internship with them now. I did one with Shell after my second year. I live in Canada so I guess it’s “Exxon Mobil Canada”, for some reason it seems to be more competitive in the states for positions with Exxon (I hear about GPA cutoffs of like 3.8 down there, don’t know how true that is). Can’t say much about the hiring process really, like I said it’s only an internship, I talked to them at the career fair and then applied and got an interview and then got the job. I was one of the few that got an internship after second year, so I think that helped me quite a bit. I have pretty good marks but nothing ridiculous, involved in the SPE student chapter at my school which they seemed half way interested in during the interview. I like to think I interview fairly well though. I think a lot of engineering students bomb out in that aspect. If you can interview like a polished business major and not the typical engineering major then you’re going to stand out.</p>
<p>I’m not qualified to comment on these schools nor the major, but I strongly encourage the OP should listen to the older folks on this thread who have actually had to be in the work world, carry debt, cover real life expenses, and knwo that life seldom goes as your dream imagines it will. Don’t work with just ‘best case scenario’ but also with ‘worse case scenario’. </p>
<p>For this dream to be realistic, it seems like you need almost of these things to actually work out (each with only a probability of actually happening-- and you know what happens when you multiple probabilities…): </p>
<p>1) go into this major and actually stay with it through graduation (despite the fact that the percentage that leave engineering or change majors is very high)
2) get the summer $$ but have absolutely no actual living expenses or taxes or deductions taken from that $$ to make a big dent (how much will be your take home pay and what will your expenses be?), and/or secure a scholarship to reduce the costs (how likely are the scholarships?)
3) get a loan that doesn’t have interest compounding while you are in school (what kind of loan or loans will you obtain and what will be the interest rate and payment terms?)
4) acquire a high paying job upon graduation (find out the actual immediate employment outcomes of the petro majors from CSM last year- not just median starting salary but the range as well)
5) have enough money left over from your high paying job after taxes, deductions, rent, food, car expenses, gas, clothing, cable and utilities (to name a few) to pay off the debt in ten years (before you want to own a house, get a new car, get married, start a family, see the world-- or whatever your ‘real life’ is going to be). What will the repayment schedule look like and what will be your likely expenses? You’re good with math so a few hours investigation online, with a spreadsheet in hand, would be a tiny investment to make the right decision. You don’t want to put your ‘real life’ on hold for 10 years after graduation just so you could live in the city of your dreams for 4. </p>
<p>Maybe you will luck out in which case go with your ‘dream’ and ignore those warning you to be cautious about a choice based on dream location. But please do not be led astray by youthful optimism which sadly, usually doesn’t match the stark reality of real life. </p>
<p>Arm yourself and make the decision with actual facts and probabilities, rather than ideal fantasies.</p>
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<p>You<em>of</em>eh, I think you are confusing your Canadian student loan here! It isn’t like that necessarily in the US!</p>
<p>In response to the OP:</p>
<p>1 - You will need to be willing to travel and work in some of the most remote locations on Earth. Drilling rigs, field rigs, etc. are all over the world, in some of the best and worst locations on the planet. Expect to spend the first few years of your career working 60-80 hour weeks on the rig in the field. There are other options, but many petroleum engineers start as field engineers, and field experience is highly regarded within the industry.</p>
<p>2 - You should really spec out the full debt load that you would be expected to carry after you finish. Make some general assumptions: it only takes you 4 years to finish, you live modestly etc. Then look at what kind of loans you can get and how long it will take to service those loans using the average starting salary for a petroleum engineer. </p>
<p>3 - Geophysics to petroleum engineering is definitely an option. You could probably easily transition from geophysics to petroleum engineering with a graduate degree, but be aware… Competition for graduate programs is very intense right now, and probably will be for the next few years.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that it’s fairly easy for Americans to gain admission to graduate school for petroleum engineering. From what I’ve heard, they hardly have any American applicants at all. I mean, Just look at the names of the graduate students at tamu: </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.pe.tamu.edu/people/grad-students.pdf[/url]”>http://www.pe.tamu.edu/people/grad-students.pdf</a></p>
<p>99% of those students are not American.</p>