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.
1. I chose engineering as a career mostly by default. I was good in math and science and LOVED solving practical problems relatively quickly. I did not like medicine, law or business school. I was lucky to have high school teachers that steered me towards engineering. I did not know excactly what I wanted to do within the field of engineering when I first entered colled.
2. Career wise, I figured out during my early college career that I wanted to work with things that I could touch, feel and see (i.e. civil engineering). Electrical engineering was too abstract for me, though I loved the math & computer engineering aspects. Chemical engineering was just a bit too complex for me (too many variables all at once). Civil engineering also had that "people" orientation that seemed to be less present in the other disciplines. Mechanical engineering was my second option if civil did not work out. When I graduated, there was a HUGE demand for engineers to do petroleum work and a degree in civil was a relatively good fit for drilling, where I started (cement design, casing design, working with geologists, doing project management / scheduling work). I started in drilling with the hope that it would work out and it did, but there was a bit of "fingers crossed" on my part at the beginning. I had several job offers and went with the company that seemed to suit my personality most closely. Over time, I moved into environmental work (which was a part of our Civil Engineering department at universtiy) as opportunity presented itself.
3) Re. the positive and negative aspects, I think I have covered this in previous posts.
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I can't really tell you. You need to ask him.
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I can only address this with respect to career advancement for engineers and not other professions within oil and gas. The potential is very good, especially for those who want to pursue the management track. I pursued the technical path for most of my career so that I could have a better work / life balance. I started over 30 years ago when dual career couples had a bit harder time. My spouse and I made the conscious choice that only one of us would pursue a management track. That said, I feel that I progressed well in my career and was often a team lead or a group lead, though not a supervisor/manager. I spent the first 10 years in operations and then took advantage of an opportunity to get into an environmental group. I used my operations background to gain credibiiity with the field people that I was helping with environmental issues. I also accepted a broadening assignment to work in a refinery on environmental issues as well as a broadening assignment in a safety group that allowed me to travel extensively to get overseas experience wihtout having to move overseas. As with any industry, if you want to make it to the top ranks of management, you're going to have to work very hard and make some personal sacrifices.
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If you will post your email address, I will contact you. I don't post my personal email on this forum
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Sorry, but I am not familiar with the education system in the UK
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It will depend on your employer and how well you did in school. The oil industry is doing pretty well in Australia but you will likely need to be living in Melbourne or Perth. With a degree in Chemistry, I would approach one of the major service companies that supplies drilliing mud & related service. They often employ chemists. Try the MI Swaco division of Schlumberger, Baker Hughes company or Newpark. Try doing a google search for drilling fluid companies in Australia. With your background, you might be able to pursue your degree part time while working.
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Someone asked a very similar question previously, please go to the beginning of theses posts and you will find it around the 20th question or so.
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