<p>I am very interested in both of these fields but cannot decide which one to pursue. I understand petroleum engineering deals with extracting oil at the least cost for the greatest profit. As far as geology goes, what can you do with that major? Which major is better for working overseas in different countries? Any advice is appreciated.</p>
<p>As I understand it, it is the job the geologists to identify areas where an oil deposit is most likely to be found and then oversee the drilling of exploratory wells. If a commercially viable find is made the petroleum engineers take over and develop and implement a plan for extracting as much of the oil as possible from the formation.</p>
<p>Well Geology is certainly more broad than Petroleum engineering. Here’s a brief overview of the two:</p>
<p>Geology - Focused on understanding where and why economic resources are located in the Earth, based on understanding Earth processes. Geologists spend a LOT of time looking at rocks in school, and you’ll become very familiar with minerals, rock types, and the environments in which certain types of rocks are laid down. In terms of a career, you’ll be asked to apply that information to finding mineral deposits (oil) thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface with very little information. In a way, geologists are modern day adventurers: exploring the unseen parts of the Earth. Geologists can expect to make a good salary, and there may be opportunities to travel.</p>
<p>Petroleum engineers are focused on extracting petroleum from the subsurface. Most petroleum engineers spend their days working in office environments, drawing up well-bore schematics and dealing with logistical issues (planning well-bores, optimizing extraction rates, etc). Many petroleum engineers start in the field right out of college, meaning they work long days, but get paid very well. After a few years of doing that, most petroleum engineers wind up moving to an office environment in one of the big oil towns. There is opportunity to travel in petroluem engineering as well, but its mostly to far, remote sites that most people would consider more of a burden that a pleasure to travel to. The money is good (really good).</p>