<p>1) I checked BLS website and saw that PE jobs are increasing, but my question is how hard it is to get a job right after graduation + If I didn't work in Oil Industry, in which other fields I can work?</p>
<p>2) I know PE must travel, but is traveling mandatory or optional? I'd love to travel but to Canada, US gulf, Europe, not Africa or far places so Do I get chance to say no I don't want to travel?</p>
<p>3) How is the life at the drilling site? is it safe? do engineers get decent housing? do they get good food, internet, ..etc? I know most of rigs are out of city so how is the life there? And how long do engineers have to stay at the drilling sites</p>
<p>4) Do I get the chance to choose between Reservoir/Drilling Engineer? or I work at any position the company wants? As well Can I be both? like
do the office work, then later years do drilling job?
And what re the differences between Res, Production and Drill engineers?</p>
<p>I Really hope to get specific answers from PE whether student or graduate or at least someone with real knowledge about it from family member
Thanks,</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is beginning to get tougher to get a job. Having an internship is critical. I’m not sure where else you could work that isn’t oil industry related.</p></li>
<li><p>Nothing in mandatory. But turning down assignments because of location will be career limiting.</p></li>
<li><p>It is relatively safe. I’d imagine the most dangerous think you do regarding drilling is the drive to the pad. Usually young engineers are 14 on 14 off. Once you have experience you will only go the field as needed.</p></li>
<li><p>You will get asked, but if the company needs you someplace else, then they will probably strongly encourage you to take that position. And you can always switch up after a few years.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Reservoir - evaluating how much oil/gas is in place, can be recovered and the most effecting way to recover the oil and gas (extremely broad defn.)
Production - getting the oil and gas out of the ground (primary, secondary, tertiary recovery)
Drilling - Writing the drilling procedure that tells the driller how the well should be drilled. </p>
<p>In all three cases, the engineer is always looking to do things faster, cheaper and safer.</p>
<p>1)job placements after college have dropped massively, at least at my school it went from 98 percent to 60 percent, as the guy above me said internships are a must, I’ve seen 4.0 students not getting anything cause they had no experience whatsoever. And what?? I think its pretty obvious that you can only work in the oil field</p>
<p>2) as an entry engineer you notmally don’t get to choose, you are in no position to be picky about where you gonna work</p>
<p>3) safety is normally guaranteed, I would say about 12 hours </p>
<p>4) as I said as an entry engineer are in no position to be picky about your position , btw I’m quoting both anadarko and chevron on this.</p>
<p>Petroleum engineering isn’t as good as it used to be, especially if you’re an incoming freshman, who knows how the market will look after 4 years.</p>
<p>Do you have Idea about the consequences of turning down a traveling offer? Cause someone once told me I may get fired.
And Yeah Its confusing, One of you guys say its not mandatory and other say you can’t choose lol</p>
<p>I believe Texas has especially become over saturated but Alaska and Colorado starting salaries have only risen the past few years while maintaining same job placement. This is subject to change any year though and maintaining a high GPA with internships is a must.</p>
<p>I said you NORMALLY don’t get to choose, it all depends on the company you’re dealing with</p>
<p>@redeye</p>
<p>I’m in texas tech, and yes texas has become oversaturated with pete engineers, even though we have an oil boom just outside our university (midland texas), our job placement has dropped from what I’ve heard from our head department advisor. According to him our starting salaries will decrease to around 60k to 70k at most, the quality of students has dropped from what I’ve personally seen.</p>
<p>I don’t know about alaska, but colorado is starting to cut students because they’re full, that suggests oversaturation, and since companies hire students from their favorite universities I dont think it matter where you live, companies with offices in colorado are hiring guys from texas and so on, one of my friends who graduated here went on to work in alaska, so I don’t think that alaska or colorado are saved from the oversaturation</p>
<p>Companies usually go for OU, Texas, A&M, Tech, LSU, and mines fron what ive heard.</p>
<p>Correct me if I am wrong but I find it interesting that Texas Tech is building, or planning to build, a whole new building just for petroleum engineering to accommodate the influx of students. Will this only make matters worse?</p>
<p>Ha I find it interesting as well, the new building was a petition from the university itself, since the universitiy’s need is to take as many students as possible (because it brings more money to the school) they need a new building to make more space. It eally says a lot when we only have 8 petroleum professors compared to A&M or UT who have 25+, the university doesnt care about our education, they just want to fill as many spots as possible.</p>
<p>Which sucks because tech is basically where all the rejects from A&M and UT go to, so yah we’re pretty bad</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure employers look at the degree first then what school you graduated from. Texas Tech is definitely one of the best petroleum engineering schools in Texas.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with a well established program. I would personally avoid any programs that have opened or reopened recently. Any well established programs should give you a well rounded education and have more than enough opportunity for you to succeed. UT, TAMU, LSU, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas Tech, Colorado School of Mines, and Marietta if you want the small, liberal arts college experience. All my teachers and nearly everyone I have met in the industry came from these schools and they have all been successful. I will state that UT and A&M have the most graduates from my experience. However, the others are very well represented. It really will come down to your grades, character and communication skills. Land the internships early, study hard, and you should do well. I interviewed my freshman year and I ended up gaining a lot from the experience. If your develop you contact base early you should have a solid group of companies to choose from come graduation.</p>
<p>Either way, you shouldn’t have too hard of a time at any of the well established programs. New Mexico Tech, ULL, and others have very good programs as well. Realize that some companies only recruit from certain schools. For example, at LSU Chesapeake didn’t recruit there but they recruited at ULL. On the other hand Shell recruited from LSU, but not ULL. I know Exxon recruits at LSU but I’m not sure on ULL. Others recruit from both. Some only recruit interns from Louisiana, Texas or Oklahoma like Hilcorp. Know your school, make sure it is a fit for your personality and is a comfortable learning environment for you. If a school offers you a good financial aid package it may be worth going over a school where you have student loans on your back. Avoid city schools if you don’t flourish in the city, or avoid rural schools if you can’t live without the city. If you like a smaller program with more one on one time with the professors go there. If you don’t mind being a number go to the large state universities. Then start looking at who recruits there and what internships are offered.</p>
<p>Take all of that into consideration when selecting a school. Fit, classroom environment, professor time, financial contribution, program strength, and compare all of your options. If you are a strong and dedicated student that can make excellent grades along with good communication skills you really can’t go wrong with any of the programs.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Job placement depends on your grades, internship experiences, caliber of company internship took place, your personal network of contacts, presentation skills and your interviewing skills.</p></li>
<li><p>You travel where the company wants you. They make this very clear in the interviewing process and they also tell you about possible and future work locations.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m set to travel anywhere from Texas, to the West cost, throughout the central US and East throughout Appalachia. If you are someone who didn’t get to travel a lot as a kid, you will enjoy the experience. I do.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Work environment depends on the company. However, safety is stressed and is a top priority. Supermajors tend take care of their people. Shell, Chevron, BP, etc. Service companies, not so much. Baker is the best option here, Halliburton and others tend to work you hard. The quality of life just isn’t there the lower you go down the scale. I will be better able to answer this question after I get some more field time in during these last three months of the year.</p></li>
<li><p>Companies tend to train you for where they want you at, or what experience you have as an intern. Tends to be field experience your first few years, and as you gain experience more office focused or centered. Get ready for a solid 5 years of practical experience in most cases. That is my experience anyway.</p></li>
</ol>
Are you currently a petroleum engineer?
2, What are your opinions on PE from University of Wyoming, or University of North Dakota, or Penn State.
I am from Chicago and they are closer to me than say Texas A & M.<br>
Would iI be able to get a job?</p>
<p>I am from Chicago as well and decided to go to New Mexico Tech because it has a well established program and is very affordable. If you’re really planning on going to school for PetE, make sure you do your research on the school as far as their job placement and internship opportunities go. Most petroleum programs are saturated right now, and very close to being over-saturated. Internships are beyond competitive. In my opinion, you should choose your school based on which one is most likely to land you a job after graduation, not it’s location</p>
<p>I’m currently a final year student studying BE in chemical engineering in India. I am going to pursue a Masters degree in petroleum engg in fall,2015 in the US. I will complete my BE degree by april,2014.I AM FREE FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR. So, my query is :
What can i do in this 1 year time that will:
1)enhance my knowledge in the same field ?
2) increase my chances of getting into a top US university ?</p>
<p>There are many 1 year or short term petroleum engg courses available. Will they help ?
I basically want to prepare myself for a masters degree as i am not confident enough.</p>
<p>The market for PE’s has become totally saturated. Everyone ran as fast as they could to get a PE degree and know we are over saturated. New Petroleum Engineering students and graduates are not finding jobs. It is a niche job and there is only so many PE’s needed. I would send a warning out to anyone looking into this field and strongly advise against it. I have friends who are unable to even find internships let alone an actual job anymore</p>