Oil

[couch 'em]

With our many Oil alumni and high starting salaries, why don't we have a petroleum engineering degree?

[Mustangsabu]

With our many Oil alumni and high starting salaries, why don't we have a petroleum engineering degree?

Because SMU grads own Oil companies, they aren't mere engineers....

We also don't have a Professional Land Management degree.

[smusic 00]

With our many Oil alumni and high starting salaries, why don't we have a petroleum engineering degree?

Because SMU grads own Oil companies, they aren't mere engineers....

We also don't have a Professional Land Management degree.

Point

[35straight]

I'm in oil/gas. Need to rent something? Sideline heaters?


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[couch 'em]

Engineering isn't prestigious but it is a great pathway to business ownership for people who didn't drive daddy's beamer to the condo daddy paid for in school. Petroleum engineers have a starting salary of $100k/year right out of college. Sure beats most degrees. Seems a natural fit.

[35straight]

^seriously, need to rent something?


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[whitwiki]

You can get into drilling or wells with a mechanical degree, or into any type of discipline engineering. Slightly less pay but still awesome.
The big oil companies only recruit at the giant state schools though...this is the main problem.

[BigT3x]

We're a small school. We have to keep things like sociology for the airhead Saudi royals (they pay sticker price), we have to keep "athlete friendly" majors, we have to keep theology to appease the church, we have to keep the Cox blockbuster degrees... something's gotta give. SMU will never have the variety of majors that a state school has.

[couch 'em]

I understand the limit on number of degrees, just odd we have petroleum connections and no program, yet we are one of the few schools anywhere with an environmental engineering program. Recruiting visibility vs the state schools makes a lot of sense.

And don't knock the church degrees, look how much money the Joel Osteen megachurch types are raking in! what a great business model!

[ponyboy]

For thirty years, my father taught a class in the law school entitled "Federal Oil and Gas Taxation." That had to have been a riveting course, haha

[RGV Pony]

Spoke w a prospective student for smu's Exec MBA who works for chevron, lives in Houston..he was surprised there were very few current enrollees in the program from energy (mostly tech and retail)

[duyduck]

Why is it so hard to get into the Oil/Gas Industry? I was trying to move to Beaumont, but it seems to be very specific on the skills that they are looking for. Got my MS Systems from SMU but there seems to be little value to my SMU degree...

[RGV Pony]

Try the other side of the state

[lwjr]

Why is it so hard to get into the Oil/Gas Industry? I was trying to move to Beaumont, but it seems to be very specific on the skills that they are looking for. Got my MS Systems from SMU but there seems to be little value to my SMU degree...

Duyduck, isn't MS systems an engineering degree? If so, I do know many oil companies will hire non petroleum engineers and send them to school to learn petroleum engineering. Here in the Permian Basin and the Eagleford for the most part, the growth is being fueled by companies that are known as, Mid-Majors. That would be, Devon, Pioneer, Apache, Laredo, Concho Resources, etc... These companies need landmen, geologist and engineers of all kinds. The service companies, Weatherford, Baker Hughes, Key Energy, etc.. are hiring engineers as well.
There was a period from the 80's oil bust to about the late 90's when very few college students were pursuing oil and gas related degrees? The industry basically lost or skipped a generation of geologist and engineers. Things have obviously changed within the last 10 years. Oil and gas related degrees are now very popular with college students and the industry is seeing a new generation being hired. The need is still there for engineers.
If you are serious about getting into the oil and gas industry, I would suggest you start by talking to the major, mid major and service companies about job and training opportunities. I have been in the oil and gas business over twenty years and my degree was in communicatios with a business minor.
If you decide to get into this business you need to be prepared to work long hours and on weekends when starting out. I do not exaggerate when I say there are people making 100K a year driving trucks! It is a crazy time in the oil field but the opportunity is there to succeed if you are willing to pay the price. I apologize for the lengthy reply.
Good luck

[ponyboy]

great reply