The Different Paths Of Petroleum Engineering

Engineering is the profession in which knowledge of mathematical, physical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgment and careful investigation in order to develops ways to utilize economically, the resources and forces of nature to benefit mankind and improve its condition. Engineering bases its principles on applied sciences and engineers use these principles acquired through education and experience to come up with safe designs that meet the needs of society.

Petroleum engineering is a much newer field which essentially developed from geology and geophysics to take a life on its own. Petroleum engineering uses the ideas and knowledge acquired from geosciences and brings them to life by creating …show more content…
Because extracting hydrocarbons from the subsurface is a long and tedious process which requires a lot of work and precision, petroleum engineers often choose different fields to specialize in. These fields range from exploration, drilling to petroleum accounting, economy and sales. There are different paths to becoming a petroleum engineer: One can start right after high school with a simple GED, be recruited as a simple roughneck on a rig, where most people gain most of their experience and work their way up to very high field positions such as supervisor or manager. Another way is to pursue a degree in chemical, mechanical, civil, petroleum engineering or any geoscience in order to be hired on the field. The only differences between the two approaches is that starting at Bachelor 's level has the advantage of a higher salary compared to a high school level, due precisely to the background knowledge that most engineers possess after graduating, but most of the learning will be made on the field. There, they will specialize in either one of the four main branches of petroleum engineering: reservoir, drilling, completion, production. Within each of these branches exist more specialties and areas. The reason that the oil and gas sector is so diverse is because of the advancement of technologies and the increasing level of challenges faced by petroleum engineers. They realize the complexity of each situation and understand the need for specialization in different areas in order to make the work safer, more efficient and less costly, one person cannot do