General Petroleum Engineering

Types of Degrees General Petroleum Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general petroleum engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	627
Master’s Degree	188
Doctor’s Degree	106
Basic Certificate	15
Graduate Certificate	5

What General Petroleum Engineering Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to general petroleum engineering were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for General Petroleum Engineering Majors

General Petroleum Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for General Petroleum Engineering Majors

When studying general petroleum engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for General Petroleum Engineering Majors

As a general petroleum engineering major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a General Petroleum Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with general petroleum engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Petroleum Engineers	15.1%	$137,170

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in General Petroleum Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 85% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general petroleum engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	26
Black or African American	33
Hispanic or Latino	79
White	272
International Students	185
Other Races/Ethnicities	32

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in General Petroleum Engineering. About 29.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Petroleum Engineering

Some careers associated with general petroleum engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general petroleum engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	60.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.4%
Master’s Degree	17.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.0%
Doctoral Degree	10.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.0%

Online General Petroleum Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	7	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	23	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	16	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.