thanks for the advice man, i want to do something with my life so ill be sure to keep my mind on what matters!....and my truck

 

I'd start busting my *** to bring everything up to an A. Once you're in college, high school grades don't matter but they matter on getting into college, scholarships, etc. You can also score yourself some scholarship money by doing well on the ACTs and/or SATs.

Keep in mind that everything can be cyclical (especially the oil fields) so don't expect for Petroleum Engineering to always be an extremely lucrative career but you'll always fare better than about 98% of other careers.

 

You might want to PM Farmer Beau on here and direct him to this thread, I believe he has a petroleum geology degree from A&M and is a pretty smart dude.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but a petroleum engineering degree isn't what you need for those companies in Pasadena (or various refineries along the coast). You need a mechanical or chemical degree to work there. (or electrical)

With the petroleum degree, you will be working on the drilling side of the business. The upstream division of many oil companies are stationed in the energy corridor on the Katy Freeway. I took a petroleum class as an elective and we did a lot of the math associated with drilling techniques and reservoirs. Please note that mechanical/chemical engineers also have plenty of opportunities on this side.

 

Petroleum Eng is a great field to be in but be prepared to work your a$$ off. A handful of my friends at A&M were in it (really smart guys) and it took them 5 years and I barely saw them out partying on the weekends as they were studying in the library. IIRC, their program started out with over a hundred people (maybe 10 girls, if you care about seeing girls in your classes, haha) and graduated around 30, so the drop out rate is steep.

Oil and gas isn't going anywhere and oil prices are only going higher. Green energy is not economic without major govt subsidies because the technology isn't there yet. Electric cars still plug in and get power from a plant running on natural gas or coal.

And like Coban said above, you would likely be based in the energy corridor in Katy, but probably travel to sites.

 

A lot of petroleum engineers are rig rats so you may not necessarily get a cush office job right off the bat.

 

Having an engineering, regardless of what field its in, is a huge asset when you go looking for a job. Employers respect an engineering degree more than most any other, because they know how tough it is and what kind of person it takes to make it through school. I have my undergrad in aerospace and am getting my masters in mechanical engineering because I didnt really like all the structure parts of aerospace. I finished my BS in 4 years, but that was with taking 3 summers of classes. Some semesters are really, really rough. For instance one semester I had 8am classes every day and would usually not leave the computer lab (where my classmates hung out and did homework) until 10pm to midnight.

 

For those engineering majors who went to a 4 year university/became a full time student out of high school. How many hours a week would y'all say we're in the library or the place you studied/got your work done. I haven't really kept track of the hours, but it seems as I spend more time at the library more than I do at my house at times.

 

Can't go wrong with an engineering degree. But being smart is only half of what you need. You have to be a dedicated student. I was not a dedicated student.

If I could go back, I'd get a chemistry degree. Then Id look into pharmaceuticals. Pharmacists get paid. Sales reps for big pharm party on yachts.

Working as an engineer for a company sucks *** for a few years. You are basically the bitch of managers, 24/7. Something ***** up over night on Christmas, they page/call you. Don't answer and it doesn't look good for you back at the unit/office/whatever. It pays off in the end. But the ones I talk to at work all talk about sacrifice for the job.

Not trying to scare you off. If you feel you're up to it, go for it. Every engineer degree holder I know pulls in over $100k/year.

Heres a few tips for college. Take as many classes at a community college you can. History is way cheaper than at a univerisity. Check and see how many off campus hours the degree program allows. And how many transfer hours the school allows .Have a decent idea what you want to do. If you're going to change majors, do it before your junior year. DO NOT major in psychology, sociology, art, or any other bullshit like that. Business major is a throwdown for people who don't know what to major in. The degree is a dime a dozen. Apply your *** off for grants and scholarships.

 

Changes depending on the classes... For the light loads, under 20 hours per week. For heavy stuff, I wouldn't say 60+ hours isn't a good estimate.