Jump to page content

Find a College

Sign Up

My Organizer

Create a free account.



Home > Find a College > Majors & Careers Central > Profiles > Career: Petroleum Engineers

Career: Petroleum Engineers

U.S. Department of Energy

The United States gets about 63 percent of its energy from oil and natural gas. That means that there’s a constant race to find new sources of petroleum and natural gas, get them out of the earth, and process them.

Today’s petroleum engineers are using the latest high-tech equipment to do just that. They keep homes heated, cars running, and stoves burning.

Petroleum engineers search for oil and gas. They design ways to remove as much as possible from the earth and to turn it into fuel we can use.

Did You Know?

  • It takes hundreds of millions of years for the earth to turn plants and animals into petroleum.

Are You Ready To...?

  • Design new equipment for oil and gas recovery
  • Decide on the best way to recover oil from a reservoir
  • Search for new sources of oil and gas
  • Conduct research into new ways of recovering oil or gas
  • Troubleshoot problems
  • Keep up with new technology
  • Work both outdoors and in

It Helps to Be...

A fan of math and science who’s fascinated by the world below the earth’s surface. Many job opportunities for petroleum engineers are located outside the U.S., so this is a great career if you love to travel and see the world.

Make High School Count

  • Go for challenging math and science courses, including calculus, physics, chemistry, and earth science.
  • Take English classes seriously. You’ll need to write about your work for others.
  • Sign up for computer science.
  • Find out if a natural history museum near you offers geology classes or field trips.
  • Join an engineering club or get others involved in engineering competitions, such as the one offered by JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society).

Did You Know?

  • Petroleum engineers now use computer models to figure out the best way to drill into a reservoir.

Outlook

Government economists expect jobs for petroleum engineers to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through 2016. However, there will be more job openings than graduated petroleum engineering majors to fill them. The best jobs may be in other countries, whether with a U.S. or foreign company.

Compensation

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average yearly earnings of petroleum engineers in 2006 as $101,620.

A 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that bachelor’s degree candidates received starting offers averaging $61,516.