Home / Career Explorer / Engineering Careers

Petroleum Engineers

$135,690 Median Wage (2023)

1,200 Projected job openings (2023-2033)

2.40% Projected growth (2023-2033)

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.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience: Over 6 years, up to and including 8 years

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months

On-the-Job Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Detailed Work Activities

Analyze costs and benefits of proposed designs or projects.
Monitor the productivity or efficiency of industrial operations.
Develop technical methods or processes.
Analyze physical, survey, or geographic data.
Determine operational methods.
Direct energy production or management activities.
Direct quality control activities.
Resolve operational performance problems.
Prepare detailed work plans.
Maintain operational records or records systems.
Confer with other personnel to resolve design or operational problems.
Prepare technical reports for internal use.
Interpret design or operational test results.
Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
Explain engineering drawings, specifications, or other technical information.
Design environmental control systems.
Direct installation activities.
Direct equipment maintenance or repair activities.
Inspect equipment or systems.
Create models of engineering designs or methods.
Collect samples of raw materials or finished products.
Direct design or development activities.
Design industrial equipment.
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.
Research advanced engineering designs or applications.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
Assist engineering and other personnel to solve operating problems.
Direct and monitor the completion and evaluation of wells, well testing, or well surveys.
Develop plans for oil and gas field drilling, and for product recovery and treatment.
Assess costs and estimate the production capabilities and economic value of oil and gas wells, to evaluate the economic viability of potential drilling sites.
Confer with scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to resolve design, research, and testing problems.
Interpret drilling and testing information for personnel.
Coordinate activities of workers engaged in research, planning, and development.
Write technical reports for engineering and management personnel.
Evaluate findings to develop, design, or test equipment or processes.
Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
Assign work to staff to obtain maximum utilization of personnel.
Simulate reservoir performance for different recovery techniques, using computer models.
Design and implement environmental controls on oil and gas operations.
Supervise the removal of drilling equipment, the removal of any waste, and the safe return of land to structural stability when wells or pockets are exhausted.
Inspect oil and gas wells to determine that installations are completed.
Coordinate the installation, maintenance, and operation of mining and oil field equipment.
Take samples to assess the amount and quality of oil, the depth at which resources lie, and the equipment needed to properly extract them.
Design or modify mining and oil field machinery and tools, applying engineering principles.
Conduct engineering research experiments to improve or modify mining and oil machinery and operations.

Work Styles

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self-Control

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Independence

Innovation

Analytical Thinking

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Explore Grad Schools Explore Colleges

Session has been expired