Petroleum Engineering- U of Kansas

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Well, I am single, 34, I currently hold a B.S in Economics and I just got accepted into the Petroleum Engineering program at the U of Kansas. </p>

<p>I have done a lot of research on PE and I am sure it is the type of career I want to have, money is not my main motivator, although it would be nice to get paid well, but I see a lot of the same things in PE that motivated me to get a degree in Economics.</p>

<p>I am an US citizen, I speak English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently, so going overseas if It ever happens would be something I would love to do, not something I would dread.</p>

<p>I am thinking about joining the Air National Guard as a reservist for 6 years starting next year, but usually oil companies do not send you overseas unless you have at least a few years of experience, correct?</p>

<p>I understand the relative instability of this career, but I have lived in 8 different states, I was born overseas and I am not looking to settle down anywhere, at least, not anytime soon, I have no kids and do not plan on getting married anytime soon.</p>

<p>Overall, I am a very flexible person, I am going into this with very "realistic" expectations, I am able to adapt anywhere and usually I don't live in a city or state for more than 5-6 years, which makes me think that expat lifestyle may be just perfect for me.</p>

<p>Regarding KU, I really like the university, I think Lawrence is a cool place, I thought about applying to schools like NMT, Montana Tech or other "engineering" schools but the social aspect of going back to college is also very important to me, I really don't want to go to a school where there are few females, since most of my friends are females and it would be nice to meet new girls while going to school.</p>

<p>I applied to Wyoming, don't know their reputation as far as PE goes, but I don't like being so far from a major city, NMT being in Socorro or Montana Tech being in Butte are not very attractive either.</p>

<p>I have lived here in the Midwest for 6 years and KU is only 3 hours from me. There is still time to apply to other schools (Oklahoma is one that comes to mind) but the cost of attending Oklahoma or Kansas is about the same, although I think Lawrence is a much better college town.</p>

<p>I am confident that this is the right choice for me, but I just wanted to hear some of the "not so good" aspects of this career or my choice of going to Kansas.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>If costs are about the same, I’d probably go to OU over Kansas… they seem to have a better reputation. I actually didn’t know(maybe knew and forgot) that Kansas had a program.</p>

<p>I’m just a student so take that for what it’s worth, but I’ve talked with dozens of companies and I’ve never heard Kansas mentioned, not like I hear TTech, UT, A&M, OU, PSU and LSU.</p>

3

<p>Well, I did some research online and there are some very successful Petroleum Engineers that went to Kansas.</p>

<p>I have heard some people that in PE, the school you graduate from is not as important as with other disciplines, as long as the program is an ABET -accredited program, but I really don’t know.</p>

<p>I found this online, regarding KU’s Petroleum Engineering program, I honestly don’t think it is that bad, academically, it is average:</p>

<p>“In the U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges, 2009 issue, KU’s School of Engineering was ranked 41st among public schools nationwide. National rankings for individual programs included Petroleum Engineering at ninth and Aerospace Engineering at 24th”</p>

4

<p>OU is better than KU for petroleum, but both are solid. Kansas still gets recruited by Exxon, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherford and others. COP only seems to be recruiting at K-State now.</p>

<p>BTW, I love KU. Great school.</p>

5

<p>You’re doing it wrong dude. Move to Canada. Life will be so much better.</p>