<p>Where did you get your information, purduefrank?</p>
<p>Purduefrank has a point…I’m looking at PE myself, although it looks to be going down by the time I’ll graduate…</p>
<p>The information I stated comes from recruiters and people I’ve talked with.</p>
<p>Also, in regards to the discussion on here earlier, Exxon alone hires some 800 engineers/year. Of course these positions include both upstream and downstream, but I still think your 400 number isn’t even remotely accurate.</p>
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Exxon has 80K employees. I’d be surprised if they hired that many though. Exxon might have 15K engineers? And that would include international hires.</p>
<p>In general I think Exxon probably has a bit more churn than other companies though.</p>
<p>Only second thought, I’m gonna need a source for that 800 number. It’s just hard for me to comprehend.</p>
<p>I won’t mention his name, but he is the lead recruiter for Exxon here at Purdue and I imagine a few other schools. According to him, Exxon has hired >700 engineers/year for the last ten years, and >700 interns/year during that same time period. This year, he said the number was 800. While it is obvious that he is there to entice students, he explicitly stated that every year, “like clockwork”, Exxon hires a lot of engineers. His point was surely to tout the stability of the company. However, after hearing this I spoke with a long time professor here who said that a few years ago Exxon was hiring nearly as many engineers as they could find, regardless of type, and according to him recruiting is down substantially from a few years ago.</p>
<p>Ok, but still, isn’t hiring down almost everywhere right now? Is there something special that would make you recommend prospective students to steer clear of PE?</p>
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I don’t believe recruiters. Hiring 700 people is pretty massive. That can’t be new hires.</p>
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<p>Im not here to tell you what/who to believe. But ExxonMobil had 79,000 employees as of March 2009, 700 new hires would be .8% of that. Obviously, 79,000 would include all employees, not just engineers but at a company like Exxon where nearly everyone holds an engineering degree I think it would be safe to say ~40,000 are engineers in one capacity or another or at the very least hold an engineering degree 700 would be 1.7% of that. Even just looking at turnover 700 wouldnt be much of a stretch. </p>
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<p>Hiring is down everywhere. The main point here is that oil is boom or bust, roll the dice if you want. PE is a highly specialized degree, if your timing is wrong you could easily end up in bad shape. If you major in ME, you can still land an upstream job if times are good but if theyre not, you have many fallbacks. ChemE can land you downstream during both good and bad times. Many people say that ME/ChemE etc., have a much harder time getting upstream than PEs, that may be true, but Purdue does not have a PE program and nearly every major oil company is on campus every semester recruiting for both up and downstream positions.</p>
<p>The recruiting pipeline is clogged up. You have people from UT, A&M, OU, LSU, etc. etc. getting their offers pulled left and right. I think like 30% of LSU’s PETE graduates let alone other engineering majors didn’t have jobs. Hell, so what makes you think some person from ABC, who isn’t a PE major, will be employed? Usually I go against Payne’s widespread pessimissm, but everything he has stated in this thread on recruiting is true.</p>
<p>But if petroleum engineering is what you really want to do, then I wouldn’t see anything wrong with doing that. If you love the subject that much (which would be hard to tell if you havent experienced any of the curriculum), then that’s the way to go. Everyone has to take their own risk and weigh the benefits/costs.</p>
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<p>I’m not saying they will. My point is simple, PE is much more specialized than ME/ChemE/etc. Those majors have numerous fallback options, PE really doesn’t. In good times, hell even this past fall - I have perssonally witnessed ME/ChemE’s who’ve gotten positions both up and downstream. I’m not saying it’s the norm, easy to do, or anything else…</p>
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I’d be surprised if Exxon employed more than 15,000 engineers. I used that number earlier in the thread.</p>
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<p>Yes, you’re right. I’m very aware of that. As such, PE certainly is a hit or miss, and the unemployment rate is extraordinary. That is to say, other degree programs that are as narrowly pointed to a particular work field and career can have 0% unemployment after graduation and there’s no sort of “gambling” involved. </p>
<p>Look at it this way, if you go through the program and when you’re out you find yourself unemployed, you can just take a Master’s degree in some other field. I mean, it is after all “just” a Bachelor’s degree. </p>
<p>If you are motivated enough though, don’t you guys think you’ll find a job eventually?</p>
<p>Is it better to do B.Sc. in Petr. Eng., and then do M.Sc. in some other subject if I don’t get a job, or is it best to do a B.Sc. in something else and then M.Sc. in Petr. Eng.?</p>
<p>Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>For pure upside, I cannot imagine a better degree than Petroleum Engineering.</p>
<p>I graduated with a “middling” GPA in Pet Eng in 1982, and have been able to work every day since then. Have had some awesome opportunities, with plenty more to come.</p>
<p>If you have any entrepreneurial spirit whatsover, the O&G industry can be very lucrative.</p>
<p>No one on this thread has talked about attrition and retirement of PE’s in the industry. Over the next 10 years, a huge percentage of working PE’s will retire forever, and there will be a gap that will have to be filled by someone other than Petroleum Engineers.</p>
<p>If I could give advice, I would suggest that you try to follow the path that seems the most rewarding and most fun. I see too many kids take the PE path just for the money, then find out that they aren’t cut out for the “oil field”.</p>
<p>My son is also interested in petroleum eng. Since we are Va. rsidents he will have to go out of state. We know what is available but not quite sure what programs have an edge. My son is a great student who has not taken the SAT or ACT yst but did well on the PSAT, especially math. Any suggestions? He is also interested in marching band. No alligence to location.</p>
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<p>And provided alternative fuel sources and the present crisis, I doubt the hiring number is looking to rise any time soon…</p>
<p>@hokiefan:
Colorado school of Mines
[Petroleum</a> Engineering](<a href=“http://www.mines.edu/PetroleumEngineering]Petroleum”>http://www.mines.edu/PetroleumEngineering)</p>
<p>[US</a> Graduate Petroleum Engineering School Rankings](<a href=“http://www.infozee.com/channels/ms/usa/petroleum-engineering-rankings.htm]US”>US Graduate Petroleum Engineering School Rankings)
There’s information about the Mines band on this side:
[url=<a href=“http://www.mines.edu/Traditions]Traditions[/url”>http://www.mines.edu/Traditions]Traditions[/url</a>]</p>
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That’s funny. My mentor says there was huge blood lettings all throughout his career based on low oil price (and a glut of petroleum engineers).</p>
<p>Mr. Payne, your mentor is right that there has been plenty of bloodletting in the O&G industry over the span of my career. I worked for a major company for the first 16 years, and went through 9 lay-off/reorganization efforts in those years. Some decent engineers were affected by some of those lay-offs. But, for the most part, the typical engineer made it through.</p>
<p>I graduated with a class of 45 Pet E’s in the spring of 1982. I am aware of the status of about 20 of those people today, 28 years later. Every one of the 20 that I know about has worked continuously since 1982, and several of them have become very successful in independent ventures in the industry.</p>
<p>So, basically, 100% of the people I know from my graduating class have had a long, steady career as Pet Engrs. There was/is nothing special about our particular class. I just think that the industry has always favored Pet Engrs, and I see no reason for that to change.</p>
<p>The oil patch isn’t for everyone. But if you think you might fit in, it can be an awesome career.</p>