I want to be a petroleum engineer. How do I get started?

Keep up the good grades, and make sure to take all the math classes you can before university, including as many calculus classes as your high school offers. The stronger your math skills are, the more successful you will be in a university engineering career. read more

If you want to maximize your chances of becoming a petroleum engineer, then plan on getting in to a good petroleum engineering program at a target school where oil companies hire from. Some examples would be Texas A&M, UT Austin, Texas Tech, Colorado School of Mines, Stanford, or Montana Tech, among others. read more

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of petroleum engineers (53%) worked in oil and gas extraction as of 2012. 14% provided support activities for mining. Another 7% were employed in architectural, engineering, and related services. 6% were involved in the manufacture of petroleum and coal products, and another 6% were employed as company managers. read more

Petroleum engineers can obtain optional certification from the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The education, work and testing requirements parallel those for state licensing. However, you must also join the society and take 16 hours of professional education per year to be certified. read more