Spring Semester Chilly for Petroleum Engineering Graduates

Abstract

Graduate Employment Petroleum engineering graduates, regardless of their country or university, are facing tougher competition for jobs this year. For the students of Tom Engler, the job market was “really bad” this spring. “I’ve seen a significant drop-off in full-time hires and summer internships,” said Engler, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering and former dean of engineering at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. At the end of May last year, Engler saw nearly 100% of his graduates find full-time employment or pursue another degree. A year later, the number has dropped to 30%. The remaining 70% of students have not found full-time work. “I have several students who are staying here and getting minors or graduate degrees because there’s just no job market,” he said. Students who started their education during the height of the unconventional oil boom anticipating a strong demand for skills have had to adjust their expectations to fit the economy. Job openings do exist, but they must be diligently tracked down and not all positions are full time. Many graduates will have to be more flexible, working in jobs other than what they had originally planned. Some may have to look outside of the oil and gas industry, even if only temporarily. University of Houston (UH) graduate Jorge Pereida started his job search last fall, at the beginning of his senior year. And his effort paid off when he received a full-time job offer in November to work as a wireline trainee at Schlumberger. Graduates who started their job hunts later are now at the mercy of a less friendly market. “I have friends who waited until the spring and they couldn’t find anything, because the [oil] prices are so low,” he said.