The number of U.S. petroleum engineering (PE) graduates finding jobs after the 1989-90 school term has increased from the prior school term, reversing a slide.
In addition, the median starting salary for new petroleum engineers has risen for the third consecutive year.
However, the number of PE graduates has continued to fall, and the number of jobs offered was less than half that 5 years ago, when there were about four times as many PE graduates entering the U.S. job market.
Those are the main findings of the annual survey of PE graduates by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
HIRING, SALARIES UP
Responses from 22 of 77 schools surveyed revealed that, before leaving campus, 195 of 236 petroleum engineering graduates had job offers with a median salary of $3,050/month. The average salary was $3,027/month.
That compares with the SPE survey the prior school term that found 180 of 278 graduates received job offers at a median starting salary of $2,900/month.
After the 1984-85 school term, 1,001 graduates received 420 job offers.
In addition to the 236 respondents entering the job market, the survey showed 8 students entering graduate school, 76 citizens of foreign countries planning to return home, and 5 entering military service.
PE graduates with master's degrees continue to fare better than those with bachelor's degrees. The median salary for master's degree graduates after the 1989-90 school term was $3,275/month, up from $3,064/month in 1988-89.
The SPE starting salary survey focuses on petroleum engineering graduates entering the U.S. job market. Because salaries for jobs in Alaska are higher than in the Lower 48, those offers typically are broken out separately in the survey.
"This year, we tallied so few Alaskan acceptances, we didn't bother to report an average number," Lancaster said.
The survey polled more than 80% of U.S. petroleum engineering students graduating in December 1989 and May and August 1990.
FEMALE ENGINEERS IN DEMAND
Noteworthy is the competition among companies to recruit female petroleum engineers.
A survey of job offers made to graduates of all engineering disciplines after the 1989-90 school term by the College Placement Council Inc. (CPC), Bethlehem, Pa., found that women with petroleum engineering degrees command a premium in the job market.
CPC found that men received 80% of all reported engineering offers, but women graduates in petroleum engineering drew the highest average starting salary offer among the engineering disciplines, $35,994/year.
CPC, national professional association of placement/recruiting officials represented by about 3,000 colleges and employers, also reported that a shortfall of graduates to meet demand in all engineering disciplines is expected to continue. Its survey covered job offers to engineering students or graduates during September 1989-August 1990.
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING BALANCE
Rising starting salaries the past two school terms reflect a return to balance in supply/demand for petroleum engineers.
After staying mostly flat during 1983-88, median starting salaries for PE graduates jumped 5.5% in 1989, compared with the 5.2% rise in 1990, noted David Lancaster, vice-president, A.S. Holditch & Associates Inc., College Station, Tex., and chairman of SPE's manpower committee.
"We've reached the point where the demand for petroleum engineers is sufficient to absorb the supply, and there are good opportunities for petroleum engineers," he said.
The SPE survey is completed soon after May graduation each year. Lancaster said many PE graduates likely have accepted job offers since then.
"I think our final results this year will show that any student who wanted a job got one," he said.
Lancaster said fewer graduates with bachelor's degrees were opting to stay in school to earn master's degrees than in the mid to late 1980s, when salaries generally were flat and there was an oversupply of petroleum engineers.
"As job opportunities got better, fewer students entered master's programs," he said. "But this year's survey shows employers still value students with master's degrees, and are willing to pay a premium for the additional education."
ENROLLMENTS UP
According to preliminary information from SPE's petroleum engineer supply/demand survey, enrollment in PE studies is increasing in the U.S.
Data from that survey are being tabulated and will be reported this week at SPE's annual meeting. The supply/demand survey also covers which types of prospective employers are seeking petroleum engineers and the skills sought.
Texas A&M University enrolled 360 students in petroleum engineering for the fall 1990 semester, a tenfold increase in one year.
One of the top petroleum engineering schools in the nation, Texas A&M mounted an all out recruiting effort that included offering scholarships averaging $1,200 to 200 incoming freshmen.
SPE has said continuing low enrollments in petroleum engineering schools could mean there won't be enough graduates to meet industry demand in the near term.
Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
