<p>This field looks very interesting to me, and I want to pursue my major in this hopefully. The only dilemma is that chemistry is not exactly my cup of tea, but I never did try in this subject. I am not interested in chemical engineering, but petroleum. Is this odd? Because a lot of chemical engineers work in petroleum industry as well. In conclusion, do you think if one does not have a passion for chemistry then petroleum engineering is not the field they should look into? Thank you for your time.</p>
<p>Aurovon,</p>
<pre><code>I know this might sound odd, but Chemical Engineering is a lot different than Chemistry. Have you looked into what Chemical Engineering really is? Sure, there's some Chemistry, but not nearly as much as one might think.
I'd recommend Chemical Engineering over Petro Engineering. The ChemE degree will be much more flexible. Mechanical Engineering would be even more flexible and all of these degrees could still get you into the Petroleum industry.
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<p>There's not a lot of chemistry in petroleum engineering, either in the curriculum, or in the job. Petroleum engineering is all about getting oil out of the ground, not in refining that petroleum once it is out of the ground. </p>
<p>I agree that a ChemE degree can easily get you into the petroleum industry within an oil refinery or petrochemical plant, but not as a petroleum engineer (i.e. the guy at the wellhead). ME would be more likely to get you this kind of job.</p>