The True Market Value of a Good Petroleum Engineer: A Technical Perspective

Abstract

Defined by SPE as the application of basic and engineering sciences to the finding, development, and recovery of oil, gas and other resources from wells, petroleum engineering (PE) has been throughout the years falsely thought of as an amalgamation of other disciplines applied to the exploration and recovery of hydrocarbons. Integrating all PE subdisciplines in a manner efficient for teaching and learning is essential for securing the abundance of well-rounded market-attractive professionals. This paper discusses advantages individuals with PE background experience should exhibit in their employment in the oil and gas industry and academia. There is no point for students in going to school for a degree that will not hand them a competitive edge within their discipline. For graduate PEs, the job market is dependent on the quality of their respective academic programs and by extension to the quality of the teaching faculty. A steady oil and gas job market may not necessarily warrant robust employment opportunities, particularly straight after graduation. In a discipline like PE, where almost everything that matters takes place thousands of feet underground, apportioning credit for successes or responsibility for failures is itself a challenge. Decreases in student enrollments in PE programs reported by various universities during times of low oil and gas prices poses questions about the future of the PEs discipline, despite the steady demand for oil and gas in the world's energy mix. Academic programs interested in facilitating a smooth transition of their graduates into the industry should work in conjunction with practitioners to provide the correct balance between theory and practice in their coursework ensuring that once employment opportunities are created, they get filled with candidates of relevant education and training. PE degree-holding candidates should be the natural first choice for PE positions. This means that their educational and professional backgrounds should be providing them with an undisputed advantage which places them a leg above candidates from other disciplines. For instance, for a well completions job opening, there should not be a better alternative than a good PE specialized in well completions. If every PE graduate comes out of his or her program with a skillset which is superior to that of his or her competition, he or she will be the preferred choice for an oil and gas job.