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.
At the end of the day, what really matters is how much value you add to a company's profits. For me, the 3 keys to success are to show that you can work well with others, deliver on your commitments and exceed expectations. First impressions are a key factor. In my personal experience, folks with field experience who can master those 3 keys quickly can do exceedingly well. I do tend to agree that after 2 or 3 years the benefit of wireline experience may start to plateau, for don't forget that you are going to be starting ot with an advantage. As long as you can outpace your peers, you'll do well. Remember that a career is a marathon, not a sprint, but to win, you've definitely got to start strong. Best of luck to you.
Not really my area of expertise. Sorry
I assume you mean "appealing to a potential employer ". Yes, it would.
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here's the bottom line, if you have stellar grades and can get hired on with a major oil company and/or can do several internships with a major oil company doing reservoir work, then go for the ME since you enjoy that more. The major oil companies will give you the training to be a reservoir engineer that you would have gotten in the PE degree. If your grades are average, then go for the PE degree because you are more likely to end up at a small independent oil company that us not going to have an extensive training program in reservoir engineering.
I think it will be very difficult to get a job unless you can get a company to sponsor you for a green card or for citizenship. Typically, you need to possess a unique skill that is in high demand and short supply. Due to steep drop in oil prices for the past 6 months, the demand for petroleum engineers is down and there is an oversupply,
Your best bet is probably PE if you are sure you want to work in the oil industry. The risk is that jobs may or may not be there when you graduate. The price oil has currently fallen below $80/bbl and the market is starting to tighten up. If you are willing to rotate and go places that are not the garden spots of the world AND if you graduate with a strong GPA, then you have a decent shot at finding a job.
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