Petroleum Engineer
🛢️Develops oil and gas fields: decides where and how to drill, monitors production and squeezes more out of reservoirs. Often offshore rotations.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $169.7k a year on average
Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £49.2k median a year · 136,000 jobs
Engineering professionals n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI already models reservoirs and optimises production, cutting office roles; on rigs, in drilling and during incidents people are still needed.
Who it suits
Interests: ⚙️ Tech and engineering, 🌋 Planet: ocean, climate, geology, ⚛️ Physics and chemistry, 🏕️ Outdoor work, expeditions.
Key strengths: maths, science, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Bachelor's BEng/BS Petroleum Engineering (US, Norway, Scotland) or Chemical/Mechanical Engineering
- Master's MSc Petroleum Engineering (e.g. Heriot-Watt, Imperial, NTNU)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Maths, Physics, Chemistry.
🧗 Bachelor's in petroleum, chemical or mechanical engineering, often followed by an MSc in petroleum engineering. Jobs: North Sea (Norway, UK), US, Middle East; the sector is shrinking in the EU.
Universities
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter Penryn · €35.9k/yr
BEng Mining Engineering, Penryn (Cornwall), £31,200/yr (2026); Attestat + foundation (INTO Exeter) * - University of Aberdeen Aberdeen
BEng Petroleum Engineering (4 years, Scotland); Attestat + foundation; IELTS usually 6.0–6.5 * - Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh
Petroleum Engineering is MSc only (£29,960/yr); needs an engineering or science bachelor's degree
🇺🇸 United States
- Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO · €41.8k/yr
non-resident tuition $44.8k + $3.2k fees; TOEFL/IELTS/DET for non-native speakers - Texas A&M University College Station · €34.2k–35.8k/yr
TOEFL 4.5 (sections 4+) / IELTS 6.0, or SAT EBRW 560 / ACT English 21; non-resident tuition - Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA · €38.8k/yr
out-of-state rate $22.3k per semester (lower division); TOEFL/IELTS/DET for non-native speakers
🇩🇪 Germany
- TU Bergakademie Freiberg Freiberg · free
No tuition; German C1 (DSH-2/TestDaF 4x4); Russian certificate: via Studienkolleg (FSP) * - Clausthal University of Technology Clausthal-Zellerfeld · free
No tuition; German C1 (DSH-2/TestDaF 4x4); Russian certificate: via Studienkolleg (FSP) * - RWTH Aachen University Aachen · free
No tuition; German: DSH-2, TestDaF 4 in all parts or DSD II; Russian certificate: via Studienkolleg (FSP)
🇳🇱 Netherlands
- Delft University of Technology Delft · €19.9k/yr
VWO level: Russian certificate assessed individually (usually + 1 university year); IELTS 6.5 (Dutch-taught 5.5); NF: Architecture, Clinical Technology - University of Groningen Groningen
VWO level by file review; IELTS 6.5 (by programme); €100 fee; numerus fixus by 15 January, others by 1 May, non-EU conditions by 1 July - Eindhoven University of Technology Eindhoven · €18.6k/yr
VWO level with maths and physics; Russian certificate assessed individually (usually + 1 university year); IELTS ≈ 6.5; all bachelors in English
🇫🇷 France
- Mines Paris – PSL Paris
No direct entry from school: concours after 2 years of CPGE (MP/PC/PSI, Mines-Ponts concours); taught in French * - IFP School Rueil-Malmaison
Master's only (energy/petroleum, partly in English); first do a bachelor's elsewhere * - ENSG – National School of Geology Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy
No direct entry from school: concours after 2 years of CPGE (BCPST, G2E concours); taught in French *
🇮🇹 Italy
- Politecnico di Torino Turin
TIL test or SAT (not for architecture); English/Italian B2; 12 school years, else first university year or foundation - University of Bologna (Offshore Engineering for Energy Transition) Ravenna · €1.2k/yr
This is an English-taught master's (Ravenna); engineering bachelor's in Bologna: 12 years, B2, TOLC/SAT * - Politecnico di Milano Milan · €160–3.9k/yr
TOL (≥30/100) or SAT ≥620 per section; English/Italian B2; 12 school years, else a university year or foundation
🇪🇸 Spain
- Polytechnic University of Madrid (School of Mines and Energy) Madrid · €6.8k–8.2k/yr
Spanish B2 (ACLES/DELE); homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE; non-EU pay 4th-attempt rate - University of Oviedo Mieres
Homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE; mining at Mieres * - Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) Manresa · €1.8k/yr
Homologation + UNEDasiss, PCE for score; non-EU €30/ECTS; some classes in Catalan
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- VSB – Technical University of Ostrava Ostrava · €0–4k/yr
Free in Czech; English bachelor's CZK 50,000 per semester (≈€4,000/yr) - University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague Prague · €0–3.4k/yr
Free in Czech; English-taught CZK 84,500/yr (2026/27); chemistry/maths - University of Pardubice Pardubice · free
Free in Czech: Czech ≈B2 + entrance exams, certificate nostrification *
Things to know
🏔️ Long stints far from home🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells🧳 Frequent work trips
Similar careers
Not sure what to choose?
A ~100-question quiz builds your interest profile and matches you with careers and universities in Europe, the UK and the US.
Take the quiz →Scales are expert estimates; tuition and admission rules are for 2026/27 from official sources — always check the university website.