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Petroleum Engineer
With worldwide oil and gas prices completely and inexplicably out of control, the US and countries around the world are searching for ways to address this problem and to alleviate the pain suffered by their citizens.  How would you like to take part in unraveling this enigma?  Working as a Petroleum Engineer places one in perfect position to not only find solutions to this problem but to eradicate it altogether.

Petroleum Engineers design and develop methods for extracting oil and gas from deposits below the earth’s surface, oversee drilling, and offer technical advice.  They devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production, determine the need for new or modified tool designs, and search for new ways to extract oil and gas from older wells.

Duties of Petroleum Engineers include but are not limited to:  designing equipment to extract oil and gas in the most profitable way; developing ways to inject water, chemicals, gases, or steam into an oil reserve to force out more of the oil; developing plans to drill in oil and gas fields and then to recover the oil and gas; making sure that wells, well testing, and well surveys are completed and evaluated; using computer-controlled drilling or fracturing to connect a larger area of an oil and gas deposit to a single well; and making sure that oil field equipment is installed, operated, and maintained properly.

High students interested in studying Petroleum Engineering benefit from taking courses in Science:  Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; and Mathematics:  Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus.  Those entering Petroleum Engineering Bachelor's of Science (or related) programs from high school with no previous Petroleum Engineering training should expect a period 4 to 5 years to complete said program.  For those wishing to someday establish their own Petroleum Engineering consulting firms and to work directly with the public, licensure is required.  In most states, continuing education is required to maintain Petroleum Engineering licensure.  Graduate education is needed for many research and development positions.

Once oil and gas are discovered, Petroleum Engineers work with Geologists and other specialists to understand the geologic formation of the rock containing the reservoir.  They then determine drilling methods, design and implement the drilling equipment, and monitor operations.  Because only a portion of the oil and gas in a reservoir is recovered using today's best techniques, Petroleum Engineers also research and develop new, more effective ways to recover the oil and gas in an effort to lower the cost of drilling and production.

​Because oil and gas are hot commodities, Petroleum Engineers are in high demand, a demand with steady increase.  Though oil and gas is the energy source of today, it is unlikely that it will be 20 years from now.  So, a degree in Chemical Engineering will allow one to work as a Petroleum Engineer today, while enjoying the versatility that allows one to adapt to other energy sources such as biofuels.
Job Description
Median Salary & Range
​Median Salary:  $122,280

Salary Range:  ~$69,850 - $187,200+
College Majors & Attainment Routes
​The normal routes to becoming a Petroleum Engineer (by work title) have been to major in Petroleum Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or on less frequent occasions, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Geology, Geoscience, or Earth Science.
Colleges That Provide Above Majors
​Colleges and universities that have Petroleum Engineering and related majors are:  Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Alabama); North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, North Carolina); Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas); Howard University (Washington, DC); Morgan State University (Baltimore, Maryland); Southern University (Baton Rouge, Louisiana); Hampton University (Hampton, Virginia); Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida); Alabama A&M University (Normal, Alabama); and Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi).
Available Scholarships