<p>I want to be a petroleum engineer it's honestly my dream job especially going off shores and looking for new ways to harness and get oil. I wouldn't mind going to the middle east, Alaska or in the middle of the Ocean.</p>
<p>But the thing is, I have some questions and concerns.</p>
<ol>
<li> If I become a Petroleum Engineer, is it true If I go off to places like The poles and such, I could be making 80,000 starting and probably 6 figures within 4-5 years?</li>
<li> How much less do Petroleum engineers at an office setting make?</li>
<li> I expect to get married and devote more time to my family at 30 and I was wondering how hard would it be to switch off shore drilling to an office setting?</li>
<li> Could I always switch back easily if I needed the money drastically?</li>
<li> Do I have to move and live in crappy locations?</li>
</ol>
<p>Basically in my younger youth I don't care if I'm on a 21-7 or 14-14 and working endless cause hey...I'm young.</p>
<ol>
<li>You can go anywhere as a PetE and make 80k starting and 6 figures 4-5 years.</li>
<li>From my experiences, it seems that office engineers make the same starting salary but don’t have the expediated salary bumps that field engineers do.</li>
<li>Its difficult. Imagine not seeing your family 2/3 of the time. At all. However, you do get the benefit of having an extended break every so often to go back to them.</li>
<li>Switch back to what?</li>
<li>No. There are a lot of good petroleum opportunities in the gulf (Louisiana/Texas). Additionally, with shale becoming more and more important, look for opportunities in the west.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>If you are with a service company (halliburton, schlumberger…etc) you may make less than 100K right out of college. Otherwise, if you are with a major or independent you should make more than that with your signing bonus included. </p></li>
<li><p>Most Petroleum Engineers work in an office. Not sure what you are talking about here. They don’t send young engineers out on the big projects usually. So don’t expect to be working international or on an offshore rig until you have at least 5 - 10 years experience. </p></li>
<li><p>Not hard at all, just tell them you want to work in the office or a different city. Or take a new job-- no problem here. </p></li>
<li><p>Not sure what you mean. In the office you will make 100 - 200K per year. Sure, internationally or offshore with a major you could make 50% above that. But you are still making good money in an office.</p></li>
<li><p>Only if you want to. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think you may be confusing a roughneck or service company engineer / field engineer with a petroleum engineer. Do some research on the different types: Reservoir, Production/Operations, Completions, Drilling. </p>
<p>I recommend purchasing “Fundamentals of Petroleum” by Kate Van Dyke, which you can find on Amazon.com. It is the perfect intro book to the petroleum industry. </p>
<p>Source: Petroleum Engineer with 4 years experience.</p>
<p>My cousin is a petroleum engineer so I asked him some of your questions.</p>
<ol>
<li>If I become a Petroleum Engineer, is it true If I go off to places like The poles and such, I could be making 80,000 starting and probably 6 figures within 4-5 years?
Yes it is very possible to make 6 figures within 4-5 years especially if you’re constantly traveling. Oil companies love people who are willing to travel. </li>
<li>How much less do Petroleum engineers at an office setting make?
Everyone from the a similar level school pretty much starts off at the same salary level. But if you’re just lounging around at the office don’t expect a promotion or a good raise anytime soon. </li>
<li>I expect to get married and devote more time to my family at 30 and I was wondering how hard would it be to switch off shore drilling to an office setting?
Not hard at all. Especially if you have a good solid years of off shore and around the world experience, companies will favor you for a managerial position. To increase your chances and salary in case of a managerial position, get an MBA from a good school. Many of the top oil comapanies will even reimburse you for the MBA if you agree to work for them for a set number of years. </li>
<li>Could I always switch back easily if I needed the money drastically?
Almost always. The companies are constantly looking for people to travel! Not many experienced folks are willing to. For example my dad who is also a petroleum engineer, and who worked as project manager till he was around 40ish, accepted a one year job in Nigeria. He got MORE THAN DOUBLE his usual salary and a full 4 months vacation for that year. </li>
<li>Do I have to move and live in crappy locations?
No. But the crappier the location you move to, the more money you’ll get it. You can never move, sit at the same job forever and get a minimal pay raise. You can hop around to different companies and get greater raises and better positions. Finally you can also go all around the world for the best pay. Like I said before, the crappier the place the better the pay. Go to Nigeria you’ll get a ton of money. Go to the UK, you’ll still get an awesome deal but not as good as the Nigeria one (my dad this as well and got ~1.3 times the pay and “only” a month of vacation).</li>
</ol>
<p>Hi, I want to be a petroleum engineer and preparing to study at the university. I want to know about reservoir engineering. Please help me which is good for me? And when I graduate bachelor degree in petroleum engineering what salary I can expect also give me information. which is good for me- drilling, reservoir or production?
Thanks in advance</p>
<p>My BIL is a petroleum engineer with a big company. His salary has been in the 6 figures since about 4 years out of college and he owns a very large home and two fairly new cars. Unfortunately, his family life is pretty stark. He goes on business trips several times a month, works late, and has been relocated 10 times in the last 15 years. He is still married and has two kids; however, he is pretty out of touch with the family. Most nights he is not home to eat with the family and gets in so late he doesn’t see his kids. I am sure there are other people who can manage better in this field, but I thought I would share from a personal situation</p>