Oil and Gas Careers

With the oil and gas industry heating up, and more ways to find oil needed, qualified professionals are needed in this field. The oil and gas industry is global. For those interested in travel, undergraduate oil and gas careers allow them to work in many countries throughout the world, since most of the world’s oil comes from countries such as Russia, Canada and the Middle East. Most jobs can be found in oil refineries, oil rigs and pipeline operations. Although oil and gas careers in the past were known as hard labor jobs, this is not the case anymore. Many of these jobs are desk jobs that require computer literacy and high intelligence, and sometimes a college degree.

Although the most popular oil and gas careers are in offshore drilling as riggers and roughnecks, there are many other opportunities as well. As with most other industries, accounting professionals are needed to keep track of finances and manage accounts. Oil and gas careers also include information technology (IT) specialists; these professionals develop applications, create databases, manage networks and maintain web sites. For those looking for oil and gas careers in the sales and marketing fields, there are many opportunities; salespeople, customer service representatives and product managers are needed in the oil and gas industry. For those looking for traditional, hands-on, oil and gas careers, there are plenty of those as well. Rig drillers, rig managers, pumpers, equipment operators, technicians and engineers are all needed to extract oil and find new ways to obtain it.

Due to the increasing need for skilled workers in the oil and gas industry, many companies are recruiting from college campuses. In the past, it was nearly impossible to land oil and gas careers without at least a master’s degree. Now, with an aging workforce, combined with a booming industry, the demand for workers is so strong that companies are hiring students right out of college and training them. In fact, students right out of college are bringing home nice paychecks as well. Most entry-level oil and gas careers pay between $50,000 and $65,000 annually, with the average around $62,000.