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Discover Petroleum Engineering
Ever wonder where the energy that powers your phone, car, and favorite apps actually comes from? Petroleum engineers help make it happen. In this career, you could work in the U.S. or around the world to discover energy resources, design new technologies, and find smarter, cleaner ways to produce oil and gas. You might help build energy sites, solve real-world problems, and use science and technology to make energy production safer and more efficient. As a petroleum engineer, you’re not just working with energy-you’re helping shape how the world powers itself in the future.
Meet the Change Makers Who Are Petroleum Engineers!
Petroleum Engineering Overview1
$141,280
Median salary
19,600
Number of jobs in 2024
1%
Expected job growth over next 10 years
Jobs and education
4-year degree:
- Work with geologists and other scientists to discover new gas and oil fields
- Design a computer simulation to predict the quantity of oil or gas in an existing or newly discovered field
- Design equipment to extract oil and gas in a efficient and safe manner
- Oversee well testing to make sure operations are safe and effective
- Use computer-controlled drilling or fracturing to connect a larger area of an oil and gas deposit to a single well
2-year degree:
- Work in a variety of industries from power to waste to pharmacology in offices, labs, or out in the field.
- Help find oil, natural gas, metals, and other materials and assess the environmental impact of extraction.
Explore more
References:
1. US Bureau of Labor Satistics
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/petroleum-engineers.htm