Petroleum Engineers
Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice.
- Median pay
- $144,910
- Doing it now
- 18,500
- By 2035
- Up 2%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
1,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
- Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
- Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
- Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
- Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
- Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.
- Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Petroleum EngineeringSee 25 colleges that teach it
- Civil EngineeringSee 313 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Analytical and curious
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $144,910 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.