Entry-Level Oil & Gas/Petroleum Engineering

nshah9617
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:56:37 +0000

If you can’t get a co-op/internship, research experience is your next best bet. Though another difficult but rewarding option is to work/intern as a roughneck–though that will be very demanding…

As far as research goes, first talk to the Petroleum Professors (if any) and if not head to the Geology department. In fact, if you can’t get a Petroleum Eng position, a geology position would be equivalent if not better. Much of Petroleum Engineering is basic geology and therefore that might be a more worthwhile avenue. If they offer to pay you great but if they don’t, make sure you aren’t over worked. Also, try to join SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) for the networking. Good pick for choosing EOR but another topic you might want to look at is heavy oil or tar shale production.

What is your UG major?

Unless you want to become a research scientist or get a PhD, a M. Eng is a better option than the MSc. As I said before, much of the oil/gas industry is based on on-site training (a Mechanical Eng. can easily be trained to be a Petro ) so you’ll probably want to get out of school quickly to start gaining valuable experience. On the same note, I’d go for a Full Time degree rather than the Part Time, since you can get out of school faster. Besides, if you are working in the field, it will be harder to attend classes.

However on that note, Texas A&M offers distance learning classes for a Masters or PhD in Petroleum Engineering.

[Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M](http://www.pe.tamu.edu/academics/Grad.shtml)