<p>Suppose you had a friend who was just about to get a degree in Petro Engineering. But went through a spiritual journey and has now forsaken all that is petro/energy. What could he apply his degree in?
Doesn't have to be anything enviro/green related. Just something not in the "evil" petro/energy fields.</p>
<p>This is the weirdest thread I’ve seen on this site. He could be a chemical engineer and put his efforts into working for a biofuels company after graduate.</p>
<p>Can he try to undo “hippieism”?</p>
<p>The hippieism is permanent for the foreseeable future. He has a semester left before he graduates. He’s been asking around about what he could do and i thought you guys might have some insight.
I’m guessing switching to Chem Eng would require more classes and he can’t afford anymore school. </p>
<p>My first thought was that he can consider something about consultancy but those positions tend to require prior industry experience. </p>
<p>What about biofuels and stuff like biodiesel?l</p>
<p>He can finish up his Petroleum Engineering degree and then get work with an environmentalist group like the Sierra Club or environmental NGOs. I’m sure they would be happy to have someone who knows the technologies involved in the business.</p>
<p>I’m of the belief that one can do a lot more good in the industry than they can out of the industry.</p>
<p>He can work for a petro company and develop tech that makes the process safer and cleaner. Joining an environmental group and whining about it does little. Like it or not, oil isn’t going away. Your friend shouldn’t be to stubborn about avoiding oil companies.</p>
<p>By forsaking all that is petroleum, I assume he no longer uses motor-powered transportation; no longer wears any synthetic clothing (no nylon, Gore-Tex, polypropylene, etc.); buys nothing packaged in plastic; and doesn’t use a computers, printer, camera, etc. all of which are typically housed in plastic? </p>
<p>The other posters make great suggestions–more useful than the sarcasm I have laid out here–but I just wanted to drive the point home! </p>
<p>It’s also possible to just leave engineering. The degree is useful regardless of where you ultimately end up.</p>
<p>@NeoDymium Just curious, why is the degree useless of where you ultimately end up?</p>
<p>I said useful, not useless. And that is because engineering does teach you math, physics, perhaps programming, and most importantly a sense of discipline. Those are all very useful skills, no matter what you end up doing.</p>
<p>get the two year after degree in education and teach high school or something. I have also heard that engineers can transition into being a business person easily. </p>