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.
Reservoir engineers are in the office most of the time and their primary focus is understanding and predicting how much the reservoir will produce and the flow rates. Reservoir engineers (plus geologists) are THE decision makers on whether to develop a field, purchase an asset, sell off the field, etc. Reservoir engineers need to be able to work with geologists and managers, but also need to be self-motivated in order to run simulations, calculate economics, etc. working by themselves for long periods of time. Drilling engineers can be out in the field a lot, but depending on the type of wells, they can also spend months (or even years) in the office planning the well. Drilling engineers manage the project of getting the well drilled - estimating the costs, designing the wellbore, ordering and inspecting equipment, writing procedures, visiting the rig for key operations and then studying what went well and didn't go well for use next time. Drilling engineers need to be able to work with every type of personality from the roughneck on the rig to geologists who always want to drill "just 100 feet more!" to the senior manager who wants to know why the well went over budget. Starting salaries are very comparable and both have good prospects for job growth. Both are just as likely to be subject to layoffs as well. If the price of oil goes down, you stop drilling as many wells (so you need less drilling engineers) and eventually you start selling off or shutting in some of your fields (so you need less reservoir engineers). If you are pursuing employment with a company that will grant you some flexibility, I always advise folks to start their career in operations (drilling, subsurface, facilities) and later transition to reservoir or planning. Some companies don't offer that flexibility, so in that case, pick the job that appeals to you the most. This is why internships are so incredibly important.
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This sounds very strange. Any reputable refinery would not have a contractor buy goods for them using his own money.
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In the USA, petroleum engineering students with good grades can get an internship after sophomore year making $700 to $900 / week As young as age 20) Upon graduation, usually age 22 or 23, starting salaries are about $100,000 per year.
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Yes, a new program from a state university should get its ABET accreditation wihin a few years.
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No worries! Sorry for taking so long to respond. I have been travelling and my iPad was not cooperating when I tried to post an answer. I just read an article a few weeks ago about a Petroleum Technology program at the University of Houston (main campus). I suggest you check it out as U of H has a well respected Petroleum Engineering Program and it could ease the transition by staying with the same institution for both a technology certificate and then an engineering degree. If the other schools are more affordable or work better for your commuting situation, then I would quiz them about the % of their students that find employment and how quickly they find employment. Best of luck to you.
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You may be able to get a job as an engineering technician without experience. It would depend on what skills you already have. For example, decent computer proficiency in spreadsheets and databases could be a big asset when seeking a position. I would take a look at what jobs are being offered by companies in the geographical area where you are seeking employment. The oil industry is cyclical, so there is no guarantee what the market will look like in 6 or 7 years. You will have to weigh that against the benefits you could lose if you leave the military now vs. staying 6 or 7 more years. Also, you mention you are pursuing a degree online. I suggest you talk to potential employers regarding how they value an online degree and how important accreditation is to them (I am assuming you are based in the USA). You should verify that the degree you are pursuing is or will be accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). Currently, the ABET website does not show any BSPE online programs as being accredited: http://www.abet.org/online-programs/
Because the market demand is so high right now for petroleum engineers, you might be able to find an employer who will reimburse your tuition while you earn your degree in the evening. You might have to pursue a mechanical or chemical degree if petroleum courses are not offered in the evenings but working as an engr tech while doing this would help compensate for not majoring in petroleum engineering. Best of luck to you.
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You would not necessarily need a masters in PE to get into drilling. My bachelor's degree was in civil engineering and I started in drilling. There were a lot of aspects that were a natural fit - casing and tubing design, working with cement formulations, understanding the drilling mud system, the importance of protecting groundwater as the well is being drilled and basic project management skills involving estimating costs, ordering equipment and tracking the schedule. I would suggest you interview with oil companies that recruit at your university to see what kinds of folks they are hiring. The oil and gas industry is somewhat unique and the supply of petroleum engineers has often been low, so the major integrated oil companies are accustomed to training their new engineers. Plus, every large company has it's own way of doing things. The small independent oil companies are more prone to want a petroleum engineer since they are less likely to have formal training programs. Regarding your chances of applying for US jobs, many companies will want to know if you have the permanent, legal right to work in the US. Typically that means citizenship or a green card, but they are restricted by US Labor laws as to how they can phrase that question. Now, if you want to work internationally for a US based company, you would not necessarily need to have the legal right to work in the US. Every company is different, of course, so it will depend on the individual company. Best of luck to you.
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