I am currently a highschooler thinking about potential majors in the future. I have a passion for the sciences and wish to divulge in the world of oil. I know that there is that infamous boom and bust cycle going on with this path, thus I am curious as what you guys think of these two majors. So, while I do have a passion for sciences, my passion for the maths are a bit lacking, making me a little skeptical of petroleum engineering (Yes, I know geology utilizes a lot of math, but not as much as petroleum engineering. So, I would say geology best fits me, but I’m not looking to be out of a job during that “bust” time, so that engineering in petroleum engineering looks lucrative. What do you guys think??
I of course plan to pursue a masters degree in both fields, so since I will pursue a masters in geology or geophysics, would it make this degree more lucrative.
Geology doesn’t even have a lot of math. The highest math course you’ll take is calculus 2 (some schools require calculus 3). While in petroleum engineering there will be math courses involve. What colleges are you looking at?
Well, purely based off of my stats in high school, a college within the top 20 of USNEWS for geology/petroleum engineering. @NASA2014 The thing is I am able to get high As in all my courses but math (B+'s, granted I am 2 years ahead).
What end of petroleum engineering are you interested in? The finding the oil and extracting it? The processing portion? The marketing portion? Ie. Upstream or downstream? My husband is a chemical engineering who works in the processing portion and virtually all of the engineers he works with are not petroleum engineers but a good mix of mechanical, chemical, electrical. IMO the most lucrative type of engineering is chemical and it gives you far more flexibility and ability to weather boom or bust cycles in most business environments (more transferable skills)
@labegg Right, I really would like to pursue chemical engineering- or any type of engineering for that matter - but I feel my math skills are a bit lacking compared to the top engineers, thus resulting in my interests for geology/geophysics. This seems like petroleum engineering but less math based and more science based. Essentially, I feel I would be an average engineer if I chose chemical engineering, but I could become a topper in geology/geophysics. What do you think?
So your mind says that having Bs in math makes you lack of top engineers? There are many engineering that has earned Cs in and still do good in engineering. They probably have gotten a C in the calculus sequence. If you want to study Engineering, then go for it. Try to stop comparing others. Be you. I got a B- in calculus 2 this semester. Will I stop there? No. My goal is atmospheric chemistry and that requires hard math courses.
You don’t need to be a math genius to major in engineering. What are your actual math grades like? Actual failing, or like B’s that feel “low” in comparison to A’s in other classes, or what?
