Oil Comp Engr
38 Years Experience
Houston, TX
Female, 60
I recently retired from a major integrated oil company after 38 years. I have degrees in Civil and Petroleum Engineering. I worked with safety, health and environmental management systems and operations in the upstream (finding and producing oil and gas) and downstream (refining, chemicals and distributions) areas. I travelled all over world, enduring good & bad business cycles and good and bad managers.
Very solid job prospects for an engineer. Keep in mind that the oil sands are much more like a mining operation than traditional petroleum engineering projects. There are some insane salaries but you need to check out the laws and regulations as well as tax laws for non-Canadian citizens. Most of the oil sands are fairly remote and the weather is bitterly cold in the winter. However, it's probably not any worse than working on an onshore platform in terms of being remotely located. If you are looking for really insane salaries, check out the mining industry in Western Australia. The locations (in and around Karratha) are pretty remote and the cost of living is high (try $300+/night for a hotel not much better than a typical Holiday Inn in the USA) but most of the folks work 3 to 4 weeks on, have their living expenses paid while working and then get 3 to 4 weeks off. I met some folks who were high school graduates, told me that made the US equivalent of $100k/year (my Australian friends told me that the salary sounded about right) and go to Bali for their days off. Cost of living in Bali is fairly low and you can't beat the scenery. Not conducive to family life, but a great way to make some money while you're young. The demand for workers has been so high that the folks I met said there were quite a lot of foreigners working there. Again, check out the immigration and tax laws.
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Most US based companies will want you to have the permanent, legal right to work in the USA. That could mean possessing a green card or being a US citizen. A few companies might sponsor you for a green card / visa, but it's best to ask about that first. I am not personally aware of any companies that sponsor for folks with anything less than a PhD. A good GPA would be mostly A's and a few B's. Not sure what system you are on, but in the USA, I would consider a good GPA to be at least a 3.3 (out of 4.0).
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Please read the earlier posts as I have addressed this already.
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The Society of Petroleum Engineers does a far better job than I could of describing this. I suggest you visit their website: www.spe.org/disciplines/
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So you already have a BS degree and you will be getting two Master's degrees. Gettig a third master's degree seems a little excessive to me, personally. As a potential employer, I would wonder why someone got so many degrees. Is this person a professional student or does he/she really want to work? If you think you really love reservoir engineering, I would seek a position at a company that allows some flexibility to move between departments. At really small companies, an engineer sometimes has to "do it all" - facillities design, environmental issues, manage the budget and reservoir engineering. If you can find a smaller company where you can study on your own to learn reservoir engineering, that might be a better approach. At the end of the day, what really counts on a resume is what you have accomplished, not just what you have studied. Best of luck to you.
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I suggest you start circulating your resume and see what's out there right now. You are early enough in your career that I don't think anyone is going to pigeonhole you as a "downstreamer" just yet. If your undergraduate grades were good, it may not be worth the time and effort to go get a master's degree. It's a simple matter of calculating the economics. How much will it cost you to go to grad school? Will you be working while going to school or a full time, non-working student. A head hunter can probably tell you what current starting salaries are for someone in your situation versus if you add on a master's degree. I would bet that the economics don't make sense. Plus, you take the chance that there will a downturn in the industry just as you are coming on the market. (It is a cyclical industry and there are no guarantees!)
Another option to consider, since you say you have only been working for 2 years, is to contact your university's career placement center and see if you still are allowed to use their services. (Some schools do allow this). They can also advise you on starting salaries, what jobs other Civil engineers from your school have been getting and may even let you interview at their center.
If you have your heart set on getting on with a smaller independent oil company or if your undergraduate grades were not so great (mostly B's and C's), then I would recommend you get an MS PE. An MSChE is going to be of more use in the downstream than in the upstream. You might also want to test the job market by posting your information on LinkedIn. Lots of headhunters cruise that site. Of course, be careful if you don't want your current employer to know you are looking because they may be cruising the site too! Best of luck to you.
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I can't publish my email on this forum, but if you are comfortable giving me yours, I'd be happy to send you an email.
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