Changing career form drilling engineering to reservoir engineering

**magnetech1** · 07-16-2011, 10:10 AM

Hello Guys,

I am a newbie to this forum. Basically I am a mechanical engineer working for an E&P company as a drilling engineer. I have almost 3 yrs of working experience in this field. But the thing is i am not at all interested to work in this field for my future. Call it to my workload, field trips, my background in mechanical engineering(lacking geology and pet engg concepts) or the company i am working(pay less and suck the last drop of ur blood). Whatever it is but one thing is near certain I do not want to work in drilling field.

On the other hand, when i looked at the work of reservoir engineers, it attracted me very much...when i talked to some of my colleagues about their work, they said its a blend of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, geology and economics. Aside from geology which i have learned a bit during my current role, thermo has been my favorite subject in my undergrad(got some good grades in thermo-I & II), fluid-dynamics, I was an above average student in it, and economics has been a favorite subject too.

Now I am thinking of doing masters from US with emphasis on reservoir engineering. i am planning to go for it in 2012, complete my masters and search for a job there. basically I am trying to change my role in petroleum engineering.

My point of writing so much is that I believe this forum has experienced ppl who can understand my situation and guide me in a better way. may be i am wrong somewhere and hasn't completely understood my career..but it is for sure i am in a dilemma...I need ur help guys.

Any suggestions will be highly regarded

Thanks

**braindrain** · 07-16-2011, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by magnetech1

Hello Guys,

I am a newbie to this forum. Basically I am a mechanical engineer working for an E&P company as a drilling engineer. I have almost 3 yrs of working experience in this field. But the thing is i am not at all interested to work in this field for my future. Call it to my workload, field trips, my background in mechanical engineering(lacking geology and pet engg concepts) or the company i am working(pay less and suck the last drop of ur blood). Whatever it is but one thing is near certain I do not want to work in drilling field.

On the other hand, when i looked at the work of reservoir engineers, it attracted me very much...when i talked to some of my colleagues about their work, they said its a blend of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, geology and economics. Aside from geology which i have learned a bit during my current role, thermo has been my favorite subject in my undergrad(got some good grades in thermo-I & II), fluid-dynamics, I was an above average student in it, and economics has been a favorite subject too.

Now I am thinking of doing masters from US with emphasis on reservoir engineering. i am planning to go for it in 2012, complete my masters and search for a job there. basically I am trying to change my role in petroleum engineering.

My point of writing so much is that I believe this forum has experienced ppl who can understand my situation and guide me in a better way. may be i am wrong somewhere and hasn't completely understood my career..but it is for sure i am in a dilemma...I need ur help guys.

Any suggestions will be highly regarded

Thanks

You are thinking in right way.... MS (Reservoir Engineering) from Austin university Texas , It may good for you.

**magnetech1** · 07-17-2011, 09:53 AM

thnx braindarin...would welcome further elaboration on it

anyone who can discuss in a bit detail with me.... Guys I need some serious help.

**vinomarky** · 07-17-2011, 01:17 PM

Go for it. I can't say definitively whether it will be good for you, as I don't know you

What I CAN say is that I took a similar path after going through field operations, local management, marketing and then country(s) manager with Schlumberger - Some time ago I decided I preferred to get back to my technical roots for many reasons - job security, satisfaction and work-life balance being the main ones. Did a one-year full time masters targeting Reservoir Engineering topics and its all worked out beautifully for me.

Great job, more pay, better work-life balance, interesting work

About the only advice I can offer is do it sooner rather than later. Companies generally prefer to hire either fresh-outs or experienced staff. The way to increase your chances of getting hired as a mid (albeit early) career hire at a salary above graduate rates is to get into the market during a busy period when companies are happy to hire whomever comes along. In a softer market you may struggle. Right now its pretty hot (you wouldn't believe how much I'm being offered on a semi-weekly basis by headhunters), but history says that it will probably only last for another 2-4 years.... starting studies in 2012, graduating 2013..... you need to be putting out the feelers to employers before you graduate. When you do, MAKE SURE you do your homework first so that for each company you interview with you are familiar with where their main assets are, what their current main focus is etc - ask some relevant questions to demonstrate this. Nothing turns of companies more than a blank faced candidate who knows nothing about their business.

Good luck

**magnetech1** · 07-18-2011, 10:07 AM

@vinomarky
Thankyou very much..can i get ur im id....by the way the prog i am trying to get in is a 2yrs one. this means ill be graduating in 2014...one biggest con of oil industry is that its very volatile...relatively very sensitive to geopolitics...considering the uprisings in N.africa and middle east...that have negatively impacted the recent developments of coming out from recession...I THINK that it can never be predicted...

Lets hope for the best.....

**vinomarky** · 07-18-2011, 11:29 AM

Sorry, dont use IM and prefer not to give out my details.

You are correct that the volatility is a downside of the business. This was part of the reason I chose reservoir engineering. I reasoned that contractors, drillers and explorationalists would get hit hard when prices crash, but companies still need to get oil out of the ground efficiently so as long as you are technically competent you are about as safe as you can be.

While you can't predict with any certainty of when corrections will happen, the market and economies have a certain inertia such that it takes a certain period to really ramp up and then a (shorter) period to ramp down. Historically we have had recent corrections in 1988, 1998, 2002 and 2009 so by extension we may expect between 4-10 years between them. With last one only 2 years ago that means 2-8 years of happy times. This approach, while very simplistic is about as valid as decline curve analysis ;-)