Engineers make $78,000 to $167,000 +

Many different types of engineers are employed in the energy industry. They include civil, mechanical, electrical, software, chemical, nuclear, sales, geological, stationary, mining and petroleum (engineers in drilling, production, reservoir, facilities, safety, and environmental). Some oil & gas positions are termed "engineers", such as a Mud Engineer (who calibrates the drilling fluid that lubricates drill bits), but generally do not require a formal engineering degree.

On September 7, 2008, a Denver Post article entitled "World needs engineers to create and build solutions" claimed there's a worldwide shortage of engineers, partly due to their pending retirements. The article also states "in addition to aerospace, chemical, civil, mechanical and other specialties, there is demand for engineers in new areas, such as renewable energy."

A February article in the Wall Street Journal claims "Top-ranking petroleum-engineering graduates this year can expect starting pay of $80,000 to $110,000, plus signing bonuses and other perks."

I'm a firm believer of not re-inventing the wheel. Therefore, rather than try to formulate, then articulate what types of engineering positions are available in the energy industry, I will refer you instead to a very informative website from the Society of Petroleum Engineers. I would also like to take this chance to welcome Society of Engineers to Denver for their September conference!

As the Salary Survey on this site indicates, Petroleum Engineers made an average salary of $167,000 last year (an increase from 2006). Other sites, such as Get Into Energy, show wages around $85,000 for other types of engineers (electrical, nuclear, chemical) in the energy industry--they also have basic information about these types of occupations as well as skills and education requirements.

By the way, here's another site that shows Salary Trends by Job Title for Drafters, Designers, Engineers, Management, and Technician positions, and for your viewing enjoyment, here's a video of "a day in the life of a field engineer" for Schlumberger:

Schlumberger Jobs: Higor - A Field Engineer Day in the Life

So what types of energy companies in Colorado hire engineers (in addition to Schlumberger)? Tons! Here is an example of just a few:

- NREL
- Long
- Siemens
- Johnson Controls
- Xcel Energy
- Tri-State Generation & Transmission
- McInstry
- Baker Hughes
- CH2M Hill
- ConocoPhillips
- Jacobs Engineering

See a longer list on my Delicious account:
- http://delicious.com/TLynnSargent/extraction-jobs
- http://delicious.com/TLynnSargent/green-jobs