<p>
It seem’s like Ranch’s post is to say that liquid hydrocarbons will never reduce in importance in our energy mix. I definitely think on a 20 year time cycle petroleum will be less prevalent than it is now - yes it will cost more and therefore be rationed into the activities that will be willing to pay for it (aviation, ground bulk transport, etc).</p>
<p>Well, I think it’s not accurate to say that petro e won’t be profitable, and that the entire industry will dry up.</p>
<p>This article says the oil will be diminished, but slowly through the next century or two.
[Summer</a> Reading: Oil Is Running Out - TheStreet](<a href=“http://www.thestreet.com/story/10810406/1/summer-reading-oil-is-running-out.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN]Summer”>http://www.thestreet.com/story/10810406/1/summer-reading-oil-is-running-out.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN)</p>
<p>I mean it’s likely that we will hit peak oil around 2030-2050. But even after that, the petro e industry will NOT disappear. That would destroy too many countries. Besides, there are tar fields that we can look into. We can make them more environmentally sound through chemical and mechanical engineers, I guess.</p>
<p>Petro engineers themselves are in a shortage. If you can become one, any country will go crazy for you, especially if you’re from America. But yes, double major just to see how things fare.</p>
<p>Btw, Stanford and Southern California do not offer ABET-accredited petro e programs. I’m not sure if Stanford even offers it anymore, but it used to be ranked 3rd for it.</p>
<p>These schools have ABET accredited petro e programs:
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Colorado School of Mines_____________________ (Ranking: 4th)
The University of Kansas
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Louisiana State University and A&M College______ (Ranking: 6th)
Marietta College
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Montana Tech of the University of Montana
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology___ (Ranking: 10th)
The University of Oklahoma____________________ (Ranking: 4th)
Pennsylvania State University__________________ (Ranking: 9th)
Texas A & M University________________________ (Ranking: 1st)
University of Texas at Austin___________________ (Ranking: 2nd)
Texas Tech University_________________________ (Ranking: 8th)
The University of Tulsa________________________ (Ranking: 7th)
West Virginia University</p>
<p>I think oil will still be important in 20 years - we still need lots for plastics, no?</p>
<p>The Princeton Review says:
</p>
<p>This is what I found on an engineering blog:
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even usnews deems it safe and lucrative:
<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/040308/8petroleum.htm[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/040308/8petroleum.htm</a></p>
<p>So, YES, it is a safe field and won’t vanish so my qualms about it are gone. It will remain a profitable field in our generation. And if there is a shortage of engineers, that still benefits us.</p>
<p>I have decided to go with Petroleum Geology… Less math and no calc based physics… Pretty much same opportunity as Petro Engineers…</p>
<p>Thats very interesting that you mention no calc based physics because my school makes you take a semester of calc based mechanics. Also you have to complete close to the same amount of math as engineers. I guess schools are different.</p>
<p>Exactly… Every school is different. The highest level of math I have to complete is Calc 2.</p>
<p>This might sound like a very silly question, but is it a good idea to go to petroE grad school? It seems that people who have an MSc in petroE get paid less than those with a BSc. Why so?</p>
<p>Is it better to go to grad school, or just get a BSc and then have years of work experience?</p>
<p>I’m curious about this too; I’ve heard a few times that experience is far greater than further education in the industry.</p>
<p>^ Same here.</p>
<p>I’m just looking for some clarification to what these websites say about salaries, b/c I can’t believe that you would make more as a BSc than you would as a(n) MSc:</p>
<p>[Petroleum</a> Engineer Salary](<a href=“http://www.buzzle.com/articles/petroleum-engineer-salary.html]Petroleum”>http://www.buzzle.com/articles/petroleum-engineer-salary.html)</p>
<p>[PayScale</a> - Petroleum Engineer Salary, Average Salaries](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Petroleum_Engineer/Salary]PayScale”>Petroleum Engineer Salary in 2023 | PayScale)</p>
<p>I don´t know if you make more or less with an Msc, but you shouldn´t read into those stats to much. The stats from the buzzle article have been taken from payscale, so they´re basically the same stats. And the stats from payscale are based on 182 reported salaries, which won´t tell us anything about how it really is out there.</p>
<p>^ Lol I didn’t see that. </p>
<p>I would think that you would make more with an MSc, but I mean 182 isn’t a bad sample size. I mean it can’t be that inaccurate, right?</p>
<p>If it is the case, can anybody provide any insight as to why it is?</p>
<p>Well those 182 are divided into 7 different categories, not only bachelor and MSc degrees. And most petroleum engineers don´t get their masters, so out of those 182 the MSc is probably one of the least frequent degrees of the 7 possible. The statistics also don´t mention how many years experience the different people reporting their salaries had. I don´t think I would worry too much about it, especially not because of this survey.</p>
<p>^ The way I saw it was that the least a BSc (considering they had more experience) earned at least 91k a year, whereas an MSc (considering they had less experience) made at least 77k. But you made your point; I shouldn’t look into these stats considering their sample sizes, etc.</p>
<p>But those stats aside, for people who are pursuing petE, would it be better to have 1) years of experience with only a BSc or 2) a couple of years of experience with an MSc?</p>
<p>I´m only a freshman studying petroleum engineering, so I don´t know. From what i hear around forums, etc the best thing is experience. Although my father, who is a lawyer, and VP for conocophillips says that while a masters degree won´t always mean higher pay, it does look nice on your resume when you are applying for jobs/looking for that promotion. But then again he doesn´t really interact that much with engineers, so I´d take it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>^ Thanks.
10chard</p>
<p>Hey everyone,
I’m a Senior level petroleum engineering major at Texas Tech, and soon-to-be drilling engineer for EOG Resources so I think I can provide you guys with some insight into the major. First off, I have no doubt that when you die oil will still play a sizable part in global energy demand, at least that is according to the IEA and U.S. department of energy (go to the IEA’s website if your interested, they have graphs and charts with explanations of where they think energy is headed). Some on this board have stated that in the next twenty years the need for petE’s will go down due to a decline in demand for oil but I (as well as the IEA and all major energy companies) disagree, and think that growing populations as well as industrializing Eastern economies such as China and India will cause demand for oil to go up, at the same time that supplies start to go down which means more $$$$ for petE’s like me (and maybe you). But then again, no-one knows for sure, and its anyone’s guess really. As far as salaries go, they fluctuate, but I can tell you that TTU petroleum grads last year averaged around $85,000 plus benefits which usually took them over 6-figures. I can attest that my salary at EOG is very comparable to these figures. I’ve interned every summer since Sophomore year, all with EOG, and I made around 3-5k a month just as a little intern. I think that petroleum engineering is the most lucrative 4-year degree you can earn. Some ppl on here have also mentioned getting a different degree (such as M.E. or pet. geology) and then trying to get a petE job in order to avoid any perceived job insecurity in the field. From my perspective what degree you get only affects your first job. Therefore, I dont think that a M.E. with 20 years of drilling experience will be any better off than a PetE with 20 years drilling experience if the industry goes down the drain, mainly because after you graduate your judged based on work experience and not on what degree/gpa you got in college. Therefore, if you want to go drill holes and produce oil then go PetE, but that’s just my perspective. Also, a little note on the difference between Petroleum Engineering and petroleum geology… they are two COMPLETELY separate things. Petroleum geologists find new fields and pools of oil, and petroleum engineers run simulations to find where the oil EXACTLY is and then drill and produce the field. The jobs are not interchangeable, and also, if you do petroleum geology you will likely have to get at least a masters degree, bachelors will not get you hired in that field unless there is a shortage of workers and even then a bachelors is a tough sell if you want to be a petroleum geologist. I dont know how much they make but I think they make good cash. As far as getting the degree, at TTU around 33% of the people who sign up for petroleum engineering their freshman year actually end up with the degree, the other 66% are weeded out or change majors. Its a tough program but well worth it in the end. If you guys have any more questions or comments feel free to ask, I’ll be glad to help.</p>
<p>Also a little side note, employers do not care if you have a B.S. or a M.S. in Petroleum Engineering, you will be applying for the same jobs and make the same cash. I suppose it does look a little better on your resume but wont help you out to much. A good GPA and most of all WORK EXPERIENCE are what really get you noticed and a guy with a 3.5 and 3 summers work exp. will get hired over a M.S. with a lower GPA and less experience any day of the week.</p>
<p>Petroleum engineering is the future!!!</p>
<p>As much as the clean energy movement goes, it’s only an idea. The oil industry is too powerful for politicians to make regulations. </p>
<p>China is pouring huge amounts of money into finding more petroleum. You would be surprised at the amount of money that is going into the discovery of oil diposits around the world.</p>
<p>We would never replace fossil fuels as a means of energy in our life times. Experts say that the US alone will only generate 15% of its energy by wind mills by 2050. Do you know how little that is, and how long that is from now?</p>
<p>So, we can conclude that petroleum engineering is indeed the future.</p>
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</p>
<p>So now wind is the only form of energy that will take the place of oil? What about hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, coal, or NUCLEAR? There is a lot more competition than just wind.</p>
<p>Get a grip. I am not going to be an idiot and claim that petroleum is going to die a fast and painful death, because you are right, there is too much political power in Washington with an interest in keeping oil around for that to happen. However, it is unreasonable to think that oil will not experience any sort of decline in popularity. It will still be a very lucrative business, but it will just experience more competition as a major source of energy in the near future.</p>