I want to major in, or work in petroleum engineering, but there isn’t 1 school in Virginia that offers it as a degree. Why is this, and is there anyway to get a job in petroleum engineering with a different degree?
I’m currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I’m also planning on moving to a different state, maybe texas or cali, after I get my degree.
I suspect that it has to do with proximity to the petroleum industry.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking, it still makes me mad that there isn’t 1 school that offers it though.
Petroleum engineering is so high in demand right now that practically any engineering degree will be sufficient enough for you to get a job in the industry. Mechanical is a safe path to take because it increases your job prospects in other engineering fields in case petroleum doesn’t work out or if you change your mind.
Okay, I’ll probably just stick with Mechanical then. Do you think it would be best to move to somewhere such as Texas, where there’s a lot of petroleum jobs, or stay at Virginia and go for a petroleum job later on?
@zachdrone You could potentially use The Academic Common Market to find reciprocal tuition for petroleum engineering. Virginia residents can do petroleum at WVU, LSU, or University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The son of a poster on CC (from Virginia) used the program to go to WVU. The program still seems to be in place.I wouldn’t see any need to move to Texas before you have any job.
Well, I hate to be voice of gloom and doom, but it does not look like the academic common market is still available.
https://www.registrar.vt.edu/academic_records/academic_common_market/index.html
@DecideSomeHow That has to do with Virginia Tech. Virginia still participates from what I can tell. Google academic common market Virginia. Not all schools or programs within schools participate. Petroleum engineering is available to Virginia residents at out of state schools like WVU because Virginia does not have an instate program available to its residents. You. still need to apply and be accepted though. And slots are limited.
What about that consortium of Southern Colleges, of which Louisiana Tech is a member? Also a Chemical Engineering degree can be applicable to the petroleum industry.
"Petroleum engineering is so high in demand right now " =))
Uh, have you been paying ANY attention to the drop in the price of Oil in the last 6 months??? 
Oil companies and drilling companies are laying off thousands of people, including engineers, capping wells and closing down operations across the country because it costs them MORE to bring oil to the surface than the $60 a barrel they can sell it for. There is an Oil glut in the US and oil refineries are running out of tanks to store anymore. And NO ONE is predicting a return to the days of $120/ barrel oil in the future. The days of Oil companies needing to hire thousands of petroleum engineers are over…
In my opinion, its the right time to consider another Engineering degree other than Petroleum studies.
I actually agree. Unless the OP is dead set on petroleum, he may be better off doing something with broader applications.
Check out the ChemE programs there. UMich also does not have PetroE, but ChemE graduates work in the oil industry.