Post: #1

Hey Everyone. I was looking for some opinions on what to do next in my life.

I was studying petroleum engineering and job placement was 200%, now it's near zero. I was expecting to have something out of college. Now, nothing at all. People are happy to simply have an interview -- nevermind 4 offers all 90k+ like years ago.

I was looking at options. Except I know nothing about most of these, and you guys may:

Sales engineering? (Hear these guys can pull 100k+++ if you hustle).
Patent law (I was thinking about it. Do not mind this -- not many lawyers that understand technical stuff) .
Grad school. MBA ==> Energy finance. 100 hr weeks to not sound like fun however.
Grad school. Different engineering. Something generic like mechanical or chemical.
Med school?
Real Estate? Sounds like fun.

Anything else?

I know nothing about any of these, so anyone in the above professions would be amazing for advice.

Post: #2

Go for sales related to your engineering knowledge and do that for a year or two. If you haven't found a job within your field of education by that time, consider a new education.

Without knowing what you are good at and what you like, advising you about careers might not be so easy.

Post: #3

Realistically, I suggest you teach english abroad for a 1-2 years to enjoy life a bit. The energy industry is experiencing a bloodbath right now and is going to experience a lot of cost cutting that will stay onto the next boom unless it gets out of control. While your not in the industry keep in contact with as many people as you can and keep networking, so when it picks up again you can be ready to go. Realize that even though you studied petroleum engineering, your not a petroleum engineer yet.

What I've learned through this boom was a lot of the hiring was based off expectations, to train say a Engineer in training into a petroleum engineer was a massive undertaking for a company. Your basically paying for a young guys apprenticeship and eating all his costs at the tune of 60-120k/year for 3-5 years, before he really knows what he's doing. In a down environment like now it's a ridiculous expectation to have of employers now.

You basically have 2 choices, stay in the industry and plod along in another job to pay the bills and wait out the crash. Or just change career into something else and forget about the industry.

Post: #4

(09-16-2015 06:08 PM)Cheetah Wrote:  Go for sales related to your engineering knowledge and do that for a year or two. If you haven't found a job within your field of education by that time, consider a new education.

Without knowing what you are good at and what you like, advising you about careers might not be so easy.

That was my default. Thanks.

Post: #5

When do you graduate?

Post: #6

Given, the possibility of my engineering degree and skillset withering on the vine, I would try to do something with that skillset before I went for something totally unrelated, like teaching English abroad.

'baller

Post: #7

See if you can transfer the credits to another school in another engineering program.

Post: #8

Have you thought about working in operations, as in a refinery or chem plant? I'm sure some of the skills are transferrable, and it'll make it easier to get back in drilling should the oil market rebound. Or get a masters in mechanical engineering, then you'd be able to get in many more fields.

Post: #9

If you made good grades, consider management consulting.

Post: #10

What is the closest occupation, in terms of knowledge of skill-set, that is the most counter-cyclical with petroleum engineering?

Answer that question, and you have your solution.

Post: #11

(09-16-2015 10:43 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  If you made good grades, consider management consulting.

I was, not amazing grades. Something I now hugely regret.

Post: #12

Military officer? The Navy loves to commission engineers.

Post: #13

(09-17-2015 03:13 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  What is the closest occupation, in terms of knowledge of skill-set, that is the most counter-cyclical with petroleum engineering?

Answer that question, and you have your solution.

I agree with this. I made a mid-life career change, and without getting into the details what I wound up doing (bio-medical research) was related to the career I gave up, so a lot of my education was applicable to the new job.

Pick something close, so your prior education and training isn't wasted. You can still be creative however- for example, for someone like me with a science background I could have gone into research but also scientific writing and editing, teaching high school or at a small college, tutoring, media (scientific documentaries), etc.

Post: #14

I'm going to start hustling. I have a few high level connections I will contact. Thanks everyone.

Post: #15

I would not recommend going abroad to teach English. Your skills and knowledgable base are going to atrophy. The downturn in the energy sector, while sharp and painful, is not likely to go on for years. You want to get a job that is tangential to what you've learned, especially since it's a hard science. Once the sector becomes back, you'll be positioned for a lateral move.

You can look into the sales engineering job (which is an industry that I don't know too much about). You can also take an accounting and corporate finance course, and, as someone else suggested, go after management consulting jobs and corporate finance jobs (think investment banking or equity research). If you can skillfully read 3D seismic imaging /date and related info and figure out how much recoverable oil there is in a given field, you will be in demand by many non-energy companies.

Post: #16

(09-17-2015 02:47 PM)Kissinger2014 Wrote:  I would not recommend going abroad to teach English. Your skills and knowledgable base are going to atrophy. The downturn in the energy sector, while sharp and painful, is not likely to go on for years. You want to get a job that is tangential to what you've learned, especially since it's a hard science. Once the sector becomes back, you'll be positioned for a lateral move.

You can look into the sales engineering job (which is an industry that I don't know too much about). You can also take an accounting and corporate finance course, and, as someone else suggested, go after management consulting jobs and corporate finance jobs (think investment banking or equity research). If you can skillfully read 3D seismic imaging /date and related info and figure out how much recoverable oil there is in a given field, you will be in demand by many non-energy companies.

I agree with this.

Post: #17

You can try patent law. Try applying at the USPTO.

Post: #18

This thread has certainly sparked some thoughts for me, since I will be done with a petroleum engineering degree a year and a half from now.

So besides working hard to ensure that my grades are good, do you guys have any other advice that would help prepare me for the possibility that the oil industry will still be in a slump by the time I graduate? Given what has been posted in this thread I have to consider the possibility so I'll have options if this is indeed what occurs.

Post: #19

Networking. I know guys who had good grades but shitty social skills and struggled.

And just knowing someone doesn't count. They should actually like you and think it would be good to have you on the team.

Post: #20

(09-16-2015 05:42 PM)jake1720 Wrote:  Hey Everyone. I was looking for some opinions on what to do next in my life.

I was studying petroleum engineering and job placement was 200%, now it's near zero. I was expecting to have something out of college. Now, nothing at all. People are happy to simply have an interview -- nevermind 4 offers all 90k+ like years ago.
...
Grad school. Different engineering. Something generic like mechanical or chemical.

What jobs do people with degrees in mechanical and chemical engineering apply for?

Apply for those. Many jobs which require engineering degrees do massive retraining on the job (for example mechanical engineers at Ford), and with good networking and a solid pitch you will be able to get the job.

It will be much harder for you as a petroleum engineer to go into, for example, sales or real estate than mechanical engineering.

Avoid graduate school.

Post: #21

(09-18-2015 11:50 AM)storm Wrote:  

(09-16-2015 05:42 PM)jake1720 Wrote:  Hey Everyone. I was looking for some opinions on what to do next in my life.

I was studying petroleum engineering and job placement was 200%, now it's near zero. I was expecting to have something out of college. Now, nothing at all. People are happy to simply have an interview -- nevermind 4 offers all 90k+ like years ago.
...
Grad school. Different engineering. Something generic like mechanical or chemical.

What jobs do people with degrees in mechanical and chemical engineering apply for?

Apply for those. Many jobs which require engineering degrees do massive retraining on the job (for example mechanical engineers at Ford), and with good networking and a solid pitch you will be able to get the job.

It will be much harder for you as a petroleum engineer to go into, for example, sales or real estate than mechanical engineering.

Avoid graduate school.

I was looking at sales. If I can do anything it is handle rejection very well from so much gaming.

Post: #22

Shit happens .
I wanted to be a pilot , Sept 11th killed all the jobs when I graduated.
I took a degree in internet stuff then the dot com crash killed all the jobs.

Ended up in Financial Technology , I basically fly around the world selling trading systems to investment banks , hedge funds etc.
Pays well , nice people , quite interesting as well..

Post: #23

(09-18-2015 07:24 PM)cosworth Wrote:  Shit happens .
I wanted to be a pilot , Sept 11th killed all the jobs when I graduated.
I took a degree in internet stuff then the dot com crash killed all the jobs.

Ended up in Financial Technology , I basically fly around the world selling trading systems to investment banks , hedge funds etc.
Pays well , nice people , quite interesting as well..

This gives me hope.

Post: #24

(09-18-2015 07:24 PM)cosworth Wrote:  Shit happens .
I wanted to be a pilot , Sept 11th killed all the jobs when I graduated.
I took a degree in internet stuff then the dot com crash killed all the jobs.

Ended up in Financial Technology , I basically fly around the world selling trading systems to investment banks , hedge funds etc.
Pays well , nice people , quite interesting as well..

How did you end up selling those systems? What are the minimum requirements for someone getting into the financial software sales?

Post: #25

My nephew graduated in December from a school that seems to kick out a lot of Petroleum Engineers in Ohio. He did intern and thus was promised some payback on student loans with the company that hired him. He's been working pretty steady... I have no idea what he's making but he seems to be in a good situation.

Did the job market drop that quickly? If so late hires like him could also have some issues.