re: Engineering Career Advice - Mechanical, Chemical, Petroleum

Mechanical engineers never have trouble finding jobs and are not geographically limited. Everything needs mechanical engineers. There are a LOT of mechanical engineers, though, so salaries tend to be slightly lower than some of the other disciplines, though higher than others. It's generally toward the middle of the road, speaking about salaries by discipline.

Chemical engineers usually don't have much trouble finding a job and are generally one of the highest paid disciplines, but you might be geographically limited. The demand for chemical engineers tends to cluster geographically more than mechanical engineers, but not as bad as petroleum engineers.

Petroleum engineers. No. Near the top of the engineering pay scale because it has to be to compensate for the boom and bust nature of the oilfield. Too many baws thought they were gonna get rich and the market's flooded. The skillset is a weird mix of mechanical, chemical, and geologist that isn't deep enough to really be applicable outside of the oilfield, so you're fairly locked into that industry, particularly the production side. So, you're subject to the usual oilfield boom and bust, hire and layoff cycle. Finally, if you do get a job, you're gonna be deep in baw country.

Nobody's practicing a lot of petroleum engineering in St. Croix, but I guarantee you there are mechanical engineers there (all those nice resorts need building engineers) and maybe a few chemical engineers, but if they're there, they're going to be on the bad side of the island where the servants live next to the chemical plants.

quote:

---

LSU has one of the best Engineering programs in the country.

---

Purely your opinion. US News Best Colleges has their program ranked #104. Where as Clemson is ranked #55.

quote:

---

What about electrical? You get the pay level of chemical engineers but the best job security of any engineering discipline.

---

Electrical engineers are nowhere near on the same pay scale as Chemical Engineers. Electrical is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to engineering degrees and it's boring as shite. I've been in the oil & gas business for 20 yrs and have an ME degree along with a drafting degree.

So much for my computer science degree. Can't even reply to a post properly. I was trying to respond to the recommendation about a CS degree with a minor in PetE...


That's interesting. My degree is in Computer Science. I think it's a niche thing. I know the health insurance tech side really well so i do well in that industry. In general, programmers are a dime a dozen. I guess a CS grad that really knows the Petroleum industry is enough to set one apart.

quote:

---

but LSU has one of the best Engineering programs in the country

---

As an LSU Engineering alum, I almost peed laughing at this statement.

OP, I will echo what the majority have said. ME will offer the most opportunities over various fields. ChemE is great and lucrative, but a little more limited (and for me personally harder classwork with Ochem). I started as a PetE, but ended up with a Civil degree. PetE is too cyclical for me, and I had job offers in the industry even with a CE degree.

ME I’ve always heard offers the most versatility

Do civil engineering and join Trumps team to build the wall.

You interested in making real money then get the easiest engr degree possible and go into technical sales.

CHEMCIAL ALL DAY