When it comes to the production of oil and gas, the petroleum engineers are our heroes. Why heroes? Because what they do is not entirely easy and yet they are up for the task.
As how the University of New South Wales in Australia would put it, petroleum Engineers are employed by oil or gas companies to design, test and implement efficient methods to extract petroleum products from the earth and sea floor. They spend most of their time making estimations because they can never see what is actually going on thousands of meters below the ground.
More often than not, they are involved in locating the dig site of the petroleum for them to design and build the machines needed to extract the oil and gas beneath. Petroleum engineers also man the operations of the removal and processing of the petroleum.
With such a complicated job, no wonder they are hailed as the highest paid engineering job according to the evaluation of the U.S. News.
Petroleum engineers are listed to be #12 in the Best Paying Jobs across all industries, and yet #8 in the Overall Best Engineering Jobs. Meanwhile it is #83 in the 100 Best Jobs.
In 2015, these kind of engineers keep a median salary of $129,990. Petroleum engineers in the metropolitan areas of Houston, Denver and Dallas are the most compensated, at least in the U.S.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists petroleum engineering as one of the fastest growing fields. According to trends, the BLS expects that the profession will grow at a rate of 10% from 2014 t0 2024, despite the worldwide shift in renewable energy. At that rate, the industry will generate about 3,400 new jobs, largely because of the expected retirees across the decade.
Big changes might shake up the oil and gas industry because of the recent drastic changes in energy source preferences. But for now, petroleum engineers still hold the highest paid engineering job.
Source: US News
