As worldwide energy demand grows and an aging population retires, it has created a demand for petroleum engineers that won't be able to be met over the next several years.
The job of a petroleum engineer is to "evaluate potential oil and gas reservoirs, work with geologists and other specialists to understand rock formations, determine drilling methods and then monitor drilling and recovery operations. One of their big tasks is to design methods that achieve maximum recovery of oil and gas."
Other major reasons for the downturn in petroleum engineering majors is the unreliability of the industry as an employer. When the cost of oil per barrel plunged to the low teens, energy companies cut over 500,000 jobs over an eighteen year period.
The result was the loss of almost a generation of students who didn't enter the industry.
"I can assure you, it's tight from a supply standpoint, hot from a demand standpoint and lucrative from a job searcher's standpoint," said Cary Wilkins, who leads Shell's recruitment efforts in the U.S. and Canada.
For existing employees, it will be a boon, as they're stretched and asked to do more, and as a result will be paid more. For companies it will force them to focus on the most important projects and prioritize.
Energy companies in the U.S. project they'll need another 5,000 engineers by the end of the decade, with 8 out of 10 companies saying the shortage will last minimum through 2011.
It doesn't look like the shortage will have an impact on existing projects, but will be felt more when a company wants to extend their reach into buying an existing or starting up new projects from scratch. In other words it'll be harder for the companies to grow.
It's definitely going to be a workers market for petroleum engineers in the foreseeable future.
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview