How to become a Petroleum Engineer?

One might look at this question and assume the answer is obvious. Surely the way to become a petroleum engineer is by earning a petroleum engineering degree, right? That is one path to becoming a petroleum engineer, but it certainly isn't the only path.

I'll start by explaining that some people have become a petroleum engineer without actually earning an engineering degree. The petroleum field is extremely broad and people with a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences can achieve success in the industry. Geology is a core science to the petroleum field, so people with a geology degree can become a petroleum engineer if their education is paired with the right industry experience. That being said, lacking an engineering degree can become a hurdle for career development depending on career objectives. In particular, it can be a hurdle for those seeking licensure as a professional engineer. If licensure is a goal, earning an ABET-accredited engineering degree is the best option. I'll briefly describe the three most common educational backgrounds that lead to a career in petroleum engineering.

Table of Contents

1. Petroleum Engineering Undergraduate Degree

2. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Degree

3. Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Degree

1. Petroleum Engineering Undergraduate Degree

We'll start with the most obvious path. A degree in petroleum engineering is excellent preparation for an individual looking to have a career as a petroleum engineer. A typical curriculum will include coursework in geology, reservoir engineering, drilling engineering, and production engineering. Many programs include additional courses that are very beneficial to the modern petroleum engineer. These additional courses cover subjects such as finance, economics, and chemistry. In recent years, data analysis has become an essential skill for most petroleum engineers and, therefore, some curricula are beginning to include related courses either as required or as an elective. The typical curriculum is tailored specifically to a career in the petroleum field and offers aspiring petroleum engineers an excellent opportunity to develop relevant and valuable skills.

2. Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Degree

The petroleum industry is filled with engineers who hold a degree in mechanical engineering. It is often regarded as the broadest of all engineering disciplines. Students enrolled in mechanical engineering programs typically develop a deep understanding of fundamental engineering principles. It is this thorough understanding of engineering fundamentals that gives them great potential as a petroleum engineer. Although a mechanical engineering program does not typically cover petroleum-specific concepts, it provides a strong foundation upon which an individual can learn the relevant concepts through on the job training or additional education. It just so happens that the oilfield is full of machines such as pumps, compressors, generators, and engines. Naturally, mechanical engineers are well suited to design and repair these machines. It is because of this that you often find mechanical engineers working in the petroleum industry for service companies. The experience gained with these service companies and suppliers is just the type of experience that can help a mechanical engineer become a great petroleum engineer.

3. Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Degree

Chemical engineers find their way into all aspects of the petroleum industry, and for good reason. They go through a rigorous set of courses while in school and develop many skills directly related to the industry. For starters, much of a chemical engineer's education focuses on the downstream refinement of crude oil. The economic extraction of crude oil from the earth is the most fundamental objective of petroleum engineers. Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics are two subjects central to the petroleum engineering discipline. Chemical engineers happen to spend a great deal of their schooling focused on an in-depth understanding of these same subjects. Considering how much overlap there is, both in education and application, it only makes sense that some chemical engineers would retool themselves as petroleum engineers.

For anyone interested in becoming a petroleum engineer, these three degrees offer excellent preparation for a long and prosperous career. Which of the three is right for any one person will depend on a number of variables such as personal interest and level of career path certainty. While a petroleum engineering degree offers a most direct route to becoming a petroleum engineer, it is a niche degree. For an aspiring engineer not yet sure which discipline they want to focus their career on, both mechanical and chemical engineering offer the opportunity to work in the petroleum industry as well as many other industries.

Why Should A Petroleum Engineer Become A Licensed Professional Engineer?

Licensed professional engineers can be found in all engineering disciplines. However, it is far more common in some disciplines than in others. Civil engineers, for example, routinely pursue a P.E. license. Aside from prestige and increased credibility, civil engineers often pursue licensure because failing to do so can be very limiting to their career development. At its core, a professional engineering license is a mechanism to protect the public by ensuring that licensed engineers have a minimum standard of experience, education, and competency. Compared to other engineering disciplines, civil engineering projects more often involve projects that directly impact the health and safety of people. It is because of this that civil engineers so often pursue licensure.

Petroleum engineers, on the other hand, have historically worked on projects that do not directly impact public health and safety. Therefore, it is not all that common for petroleum engineers to pursue licensure. One may ask, why should a petroleum engineer become a licensed P.E.? There are several reasons, a few of which are described below.

Table of Contents

1. Standing out amongst the crowd

2. Unique opportunities

3. Rapidly changing standards for environmental and social responsibility

1. Standing out amongst the crowd

The very fact that most petroleum engineers do not pursue licensure makes for a unique opportunity. In a field that is often saturated with experienced engineers, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from the crowd. By becoming a licensed professional engineer, you can quickly demonstrate your value. The professional engineering license provides a level of instant credibility that sets you apart from unlicensed petroleum engineers who have comparable education and experience. In a tight job market, it can be the difference between a job offer and failing to even get an interview. For those already employed, it can lead to accelerated career progression.

2. Unique opportunities

A career in petroleum engineering can be very dynamic and offer opportunities to perform a variety of tasks and job functions. For those interested in offering engineering services as a consultant or planning to consult as an expert-witness, gaining professional engineering licensure should be a top priority.

3. Rapidly changing standards for environmental and social responsibility

It was previously mentioned that petroleum engineers historically do not work on projects that directly impact public health and safety. While the scope of petroleum projects hasn't changed much, the perception of the petroleum industry has changed drastically in the past decade. With growing concern for topics such as global warming, there is an increasing movement towards reducing/eliminating emissions from oil wells and oil storage facilities. Controlling emissions is a complicated task that requires a great deal of engineering and operational expertise. In addition to emissions, the protection of groundwater aquifers is another top priority. Whether justified or not, the public perception that hydraulic fracturing contaminates groundwater is a very real concern that the petroleum industry must address. Both controlling emissions and protecting groundwater are rapidly becoming issues that most believe impact public health and safety. Although not yet required, increased scrutiny of the petroleum industry may one day make a professional engineering license every bit as valuable for a petroleum engineer as it already is for a civil engineer. The petroleum engineers who proactively seek licensure will not only raise the standard of quality for their non-licensed colleagues but will also position themselves for career advancement opportunities as scrutiny of the petroleum industry continues to gain momentum.

Instructor Features: PE Petroleum

Petroleum is an essential aspect to everyday life with oil being sourced to transportation, industrial and residential sectors. Even with renewable energy emerging and becoming more prominent in today's society, the oil industry is expected to grow.

As the industry continues to grow, more and more people are becoming licensed in Petroleum Engineering. As a result, School of PE has decided to launch it's own PE Petroleum exam review course to help exam applicants prepare for the PE Petroleum exam. 

I had the privilege of speaking with two of School of PE's PE Petroleum instructors and discussed the petroleum industry and talked about the exam itself. This article goes over the highlights of the conversations. But first, below are the bios of the two instructors I talked to: Tan Nguyen and Quy Doan.

Dr. Tan Nguyen received his Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Tulsa and is the founder and director of a Production and Drilling Research Project at New Mexico Tech. Outside of teaching the PE Petroleum drilling course at School of PE, he enjoys performing research. His current research projects focus on directional and horizontal drilling, rheology of drilling fluid, multiphase flow, well completion, well stimulation, and artificial lift methods. 

Mr. Doan holds his professional engineering license in California. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and his master's degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Southern California. Outside of teaching PE Petroleum Production/ Completion and Project Management courses at School of PE, he currently works for InterAct PMTI as a Petroleum Engineer. His area of expertise includes Pressure Transient Analysis, Well Test Design and Operations, and Well Production and Surveillance. 

Why do you think Petroleum Engineering is important and how does it impact society as a whole?

Nguyen: Most of products around us are from petroleum products. Therefore, petroleum engineering has a great impact on society as a whole. If cruel oil or gas prices change, it will affect not only gas and natural gas prices, but also the whole economy. 

Doan: Petroleum is important for many things, such as cars and electricity. Without petroleum, we wouldn't have what we have today. 

What originally made you want to pursue a career in Petroleum Engineering? 

Nguyen: High income (Makes sense. The median pay for petroleum engineers in 2017 was $132,280 per year or $63.60 per hour. The job outlook for the next decade for PE Petroleum is also promising). 

Doan: Petroleum is a very important industry. We need petroleum to live out our every day lives. 

Do you have any advice for those who are preparing for the PE Petroleum exam? 

Nguyen: Students need to have a strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics and constantly try to apply the concepts of fluid mechanics into petroleum engineering. 

Doan: Students need strong concentration when studying. They need to make sure they understand all of the concepts on the exam. When they study, they need to consistently study a topic until they have a strong understanding of it.

Petroleum Engineering: An Exploration of Job and Industry Trends

Petroleum is an essential aspect to everyday life with oil being sourced to transportation, industrial and residential sectors. Even with renewable energy emerging and becoming more prominent in today's society, the oil industry is expected to grow. Petroleum continues to be the most widely used energy source in the United States. In 2017, 36.2 quadrillion Btu of petroleum were used, followed by 28 quadrillion Btu of natural gas, 13.9 quadrillion Btu of coal, 11 quadrillion Btu of renewable energy (biofuels), and 8.4 quadrillion Btu of nuclear electric power.i

The increase of petroleum popularity may be because new renewable energy technology has not advanced enough to provide adequate energy for an ever-growing population and city infrastructure. For example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the global demand of oil will significantly increase by 2040. In 2010, the global demand per day was averaged at 86 million barrels. IEA forecasts an average of 105 million barrels of oil per day being used in 2040, which is a 22% increase in 30 years.ⁱⁱ 

The growth of the petroleum industry is evident when evaluating petroleum engineering jobs as well as a higher demand of licensed professional petroleum engineers. In fact, the number of petroleum engineering jobs are expected to increase 15% by 2026, which is much greater than the average job growth in other industries.ⁱⁱⁱ 

The number of examinees who have taken NCEES' PE Petroleum exam has significantly increased over the years. Only 17 examinees took the licensing exam in 2001, and 187 examinees took the exam in 2017. With the consistent increase of petroleum engineering jobs, the PE Petroleum exam may soon reach the popularity level of the PE Control Systems and the PE Chemical exams.^iv

To accommodate the increasing popularity of the PE Petroleum licensing exam, School of PE offers a PE Petroleum exam review course for those who are interested in pursuing a career in the industry. The course provides 60 hours of lectures as well as practice problems. 

Pursuing a career in a rapidly growing industry has many perks, such as job security, career advancements, and salary. Secure a career in petroleum engineering by getting licensed. With School of PE, you can prepare, practice, and pass. It's that easy!

References

ⁱ U.S. primary energy consumption by source and sector, 2017. Retrieved from
https://www.eia.gov/ totalenergy/data/monthly/

ⁱⁱ  A World in Transformation: World Energy Outlook 2017. Retrieved from

https://www.iea.org

ⁱⁱⁱ Occupational Outlook Handbook: Petroleum Engineers. Retrieved from

https://www.bls.gov

^iv PE and SE Exam Results. Retrieved from

https://pels.texas.gov/exam_passfail.htm